The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy before radical surgery in stage IB2/IIA2 squamous cell cervical cancers.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients diagnosed with stage IB2/IIA2 cervical squamous cell carcinoma who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) prior to radical hysterectomy compared to those who did not receive NACT before surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a multicenter study including data of 6 gynecological oncology departments. The study is approved from one of the institution's local ethics committee. Patients were stratified into two cohorts based on the receipt of NACT preceding their surgical intervention. Clinico-pathological factors and progression-free survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Totally 87 patients were included. Lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) was observed as 40% in the group receiving NACT, while it was 66.1% in the group not receiving NACT (p = 0.036). Deep stromal invasion (> 50%) was 56% in the group receiving NACT and 84.8% in the group not receiving NACT (p = 0.001). In the univariate analysis, application of NACT is statistically significant among the factors that would be associated with disease-free survival. Consequently, a multivariate analysis was conducted for progression-free survival, incorporating factors such as the depth of stromal invasion, the presence of LVSI, and the administration of NACT. Of these, only the administration of NACT emerged as an independent predictor associated with decreased progression-free survival. (RR:5.88; 95% CI: 1.63-21.25; p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: NACT shouldn't be used routinely in patients with stage IB2/IIA2 cervical cancer before radical surgery. Presented as oral presentation at National Congress of Gynaecological Oncology & National Congress of Cervical Pathologies and Colposcopy (2022/ TURKEY).

Assessment of the differences in oncologic outcomes between patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma and uterine serous carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate whether the recurrence rates, recurrence patterns, and survival outcomes differed according to the primary site of the tumor in patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) and uterine serous carcinoma (USC). METHODS: The population of this multicenter retrospective study consisted of patients who had USC or HGSOC. Progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) estimates were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method. Survival curves were compared using the log-rank test. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 247 patients with HGSOC and 34 with USC. Recurrence developed in 118 (51.1%) in the HGSOC group and 14 (42.4%) in the USC group (p = 0.352). The median time to recurrence was 23.5 (range, 4-144) and 17 (range, 4-43) months in the HGSOC and USC groups, respectively (p = 0.055). The 3-year PFS was 52% in the HGSOC group and 47% in the USC group (p = 0.450). Additionally, 3-year DSS was 92% and 82% in the HGSOC and USC groups, respectively (p = 0.060). CONCLUSIONS: HGSOC and USC are aggressive tumors with high recurrence and mortality rates in advanced stages. These two carcinomas, which are similar in molecular features and clinical management, may also have similar recurrence patterns, disease failure, and survival rates.

Defining the relationship between ovarian adult granulosa cell tumors and synchronous endometrial pathology: Does ovarian tumor size correlate with endometrial cancer?

OBJECTIVE: The main feature of adult granulosa cell tumors (AGCT) is their capacity to secrete hormones, with nearly all of them capable of synthesizing oestradiol. The primary goal of this study is to identify synchronized endometrial pathologies, particularly endometrial cancer, in AGCT patients who had undergone a hysterectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study cohort comprised retrospectively of 316 AGCT patients from 10 tertiary gynecological oncology centers. AGCT surgery consisted of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, hysterectomy, peritoneal cytology, omentectomy, and the excision of any suspicious lesion. The median tumor size value was used to define the relationship between tumor size and endometrial cancer. The relationship between each value and endometrial cancer was evaluated. RESULTS: Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, or hyperplasia with complex atypia, was detected in 7.3% of patients, and endometrial cancer in 3.1% of patients. Age, menopausal status, tumor size, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, ascites, and CA-125 level were not statistically significant factors to predict endometrial cancer. There was no endometrial cancer under the age of 40, and 97.8% of women diagnosed with endometrial hyperplasia were over the age of 40. During the menopausal period, the endometrial cancer risk was 4.5%. Developing endometrial cancer increased to 12.1% from 3.2% when the size of the tumor was >150 mm in menopausal patients (p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: Endometrial hyperplasia, or cancer, occurs in approximately 30% of AGCT patients. Patients diagnosed with AGCT, especially those older than 40 years, should be evaluated for endometrial pathologies. There may be a relationship between tumor size and endometrial cancer, especially in menopausal patients.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage IVB uterine serous carcinoma: a Turkish multicentric study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic factors for and determine the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on oncologic outcome in stage IVB pure serous endometrial carcinoma patients who received taxane and platinum. Forty-two patients with 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IVB uterine serous carcinoma were enrolled from six gynecologic oncology centers and a study group was created. The study group had a 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) of 32% and 2-year disease-specific survival (DSS) of 73%. On univariate analysis; lymphadenectomy (not performed vs. performed), paraaortic lymph node metastasis (positive vs. negative) and number of metastatic lymph node count (≤5 vs. >5) were found to have statistical significance for DFS (p < 0.001, p = 0.026 and p = 0.044, respectively). Adnexal metastasis (positive vs. negative) and type of cytoreductive surgery (maximal vs. optimal and suboptimal) had statistical significance for DSS (p = 0.041 and p = 0.015, respectively). Receiving NACT did not affect DFS and DSS in stage IVB uterine serous carcinoma patients. As our sample size was small, precise conclusions could not be made for suggesting the use of NACT in advanced stage uterine serous carcinoma. For more accurate results, more randomized controlled studies are needed in this patient group.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Endometrial carcinoma is the most common type of gynecologic tract malignancies and usually it is diagnosed at early stages. Although the favorable prognosis, uterine serous carcinoma (USC), one of the rarest subtypes, has a poorer prognosis when compared to other histological subtypes. USC has a propensity to spread beyond pelvis. Due to this aggressive behavior, surgical intervention could not be feasible in advanced stage disease.What do the results of this study add? Our study evaluated the prognostic factors that affect survival in advanced stage USC patients. Also we investigated that neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) could improve oncologic outcomes. Performing lymphadenectomy, presence of paraaortic lymph node and adnexal metastasis, number of metastatic lymph nodes and type of cytoreductive surgery improved survival in advanced stage USC patients. However, NACT did not have a statistical significance as a predictor for disease-specific survival (DSS) and disease-free survival (DFS).What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Maximal surgical effort should be performed in advanced stage USC according to our results. On the other hand, NACT had no impact on DSS and DFS rates. For this reason, we could not be able to suggest the routine use of NACT in advanced stage USC. But more randomized controlled trials are warranted for confirmation of our results.

Diagnostic accuracy of sentinel node biopsy in non-endometrioid, high-grade and/or deep myoinvasive endometrial cancer: A Turkish gynecologic oncology group study (TRSGO-SLN-006).

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping algorithm in high-risk endometrial cancer patients. METHODS: Two hundred forty-four patients with non-endometrioid histology, grade 3 endometrioid tumors and/or tumors with deep myometrial invasion were enrolled in this retrospective, multicentric study. After removal of SLNs, all patients underwent pelvic ± paraaortic lymphadenectomy. Operations were performed via laparotomy, laparoscopy or robotic surgery. Indocyanine green (ICG) and methylene blue (MB) were used as tracers. SLN detection rate, sensitivity, negative predictive value (NPV) and false-negative rate (FNR) were calculated. RESULTS: Surgeries were performed via laparotomy in 132 (54.1%) patients and 152 (62.3%) underwent both bilateral pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy. At least 1 SLN was detected in 222 (91%) patients. Fifty-five (22.5%) patients had lymphatic metastasis and 45 patients had at least 1 metastatic SLN. Lymphatic metastases were detected by side-specific lymphadenectomy in 8 patients and 2 patients had isolated paraaortic metastasis. Overall sensitivity, NPV and FNR of SLN biopsy were 81.8%, 95% and 18.2%, respectively. By applying SLN algorithm steps, sensitivity and NPV improved to 96.4% and 98.9%, respectively. For grade 3 tumors, sensitivity, NPV and FNR of the SLN algorithm were 97.1%, 98.9% and 2.9%. CONCLUSION: SLN algorithm had high diagnostic accuracy in high-risk endometrial cancer. All pelvic metastases were detected by the SLN algorithm and the isolated paraaortic metastasis rate was ignorable. But long-term survival studies are necessary before this approach becomes standard of care.

Post-recurrence survival analysis of patients with pulmonary recurrence from gynaecologic cancers: a multi-institutional analysis of 122 patients.

In this retrospective study, patients with epithelial gynaecologic cancer with pulmonary recurrence (PR) were evaluated from five national gynaecologic oncology clinics. Patients with a diagnosis of primary endometrial, ovarian/fallopian tube/peritoneal, cervical or vaginal/vulvar tumours who developed an initial PR were included in the study A total of 122 patients were included in the study. The median follow-up time after recurrence was 7.5 (range, 1-84) months. The 2-year PRS was 48% in the main cohort. The risk of death was more than seven times higher in patients who did not receive salvage chemotherapy compared with those who did (hazard ratio: 7.6, 95% CI: 3.0-18.9; p < .001). When squamous cell carcinoma was compared with the other tumour types, the risk of death increased more than three times (hazard ratio: 3.7, 95% CI: 1.4-9.6; p = .007).IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Pulmonary recurrence (PR) from gynaecologic malignancies is rare and can cause major clinical problem. Therefore, defining the clinical and pathologic characteristics and recurrence patterns are essential.What the results of this study add? This study demonstrates non-squamous subtype and salvage chemotherapy at PR were associated with improved survival.What of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? To the best of our knowledge, our study is the largest study to investigate the clinico-pathologic characteristics, recurrence patterns, treatment options, and post-recurrence survival (PRS) in patients with PR from epithelial gynaecologic cancers. Future research should examine the underlying causes of these findings.

Can risk groups accurately predict non-sentinel lymph node metastasis in sentinel lymph node-positive endometrial cancer patients? A Turkish Gynecologic Oncology Group Study (TRSGO-SLN-004).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to find out the risk factors associated with non-sentinel lymph node metastasis and determine the incidence of non-sentinel lymph node metastasis according to risk groups in sentinel lymph node (SLN)-positive endometrial cancer patients. METHODS: Patients who underwent at least bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy after SLN mapping were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were categorized into low, intermediate, high-intermediate, and high-risk groups defined by ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO. RESULTS: Out of 395 eligible patients, 42 patients had SLN metastasis and 16 (38.1%) of them also had non-SLN metastasis. Size of SLN metastasis was the only factor associated with non-SLN metastasis (p = .012) as 13/22 patients with macrometastasis, 2/10 with micrometastasis and 1/10 with isolated tumor cells (ITCs) had non-SLN metastasis. Although all 4 metastases (1.8%) among the low-risk group were limited to SLNs, the non-SLN involvement rate in the high-risk group was 42.9% and all of these were seen in patients with macrometastatic SLNs. CONCLUSIONS: Non-SLN metastasis was more frequent in higher-risk groups and the risk of non-SLN metastasis increased with the size of SLN metastasis. Proceeding to complete lymphadenectomy when SLN is metastatic should further be studied as the effect of leaving metastatic non-SLNs in-situ is not known.

Factors predicting recurrence in patients with stage IA endometrioid endometrial cancer: what is the importance of LVSI?

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to define the clinical and pathological prognostic factors for recurrence and to evaluate the recurrence patterns and adjuvant therapies used in this group of patients with stage IA endometrioid type endometrial cancer (FIGO 2009-International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics). METHODS: Among the patients with epithelial endometrial cancer operated between January 1993 and May 2013 in a single institution, 720 patients with stage IA endometrioid endometrial cancer were included. Patients with a tumor type of serous, clear cell, mucinous, undifferentiated, and mixed type and with a tumor containing sarcomatous component and the patients with a secondary primer cancer were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Lympho-vascular space invasion (LVSI) was present in 60 (8.3%) patients. Pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy was performed in 266 (36.9%) patients. Median follow-up time was 48 months (range 3-240). Recurrence occurred in 23 (3.4%) patients and 6 (0.9%) died of disease. The median time-to recurrence (TTR) was 24 months (range 4-52 months) in the patients with recurrence. LVSI was associated with recurrence in the univariate analysis. Five-year disease-free survival (DFS) decreased from 96.8 to 80.1% in the presence of LVSI (p < 0.001). This association could not be shown in patients who had had lymphadenectomy (p = 0.136). Extra-pelvic recurrence occurred in 6.7% and 1% of the patients with and without LVSI, respectively, (p = 0.001). Any independent prognostic factor could not be detected in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Only LVSI and tumor grade were associated with DFS and disease-specific survival (DSS), respectively, in the 686 patients with stage IA endometrial cancer in the univariate analysis, since these associations could not be shown in multivariate analysis.

Pro-Gastrin Releasing Peptide: A New Serum Marker for Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) is thought to play a role in the metastatic process of various malignancies. The more stable precursor of GRP, pro-GRP (ProGRP), has been shown to be secreted by neuroendocrine tumors. This study was designed to assess the validity of ProGRP as a diagnostic marker in endometrioid adenocarcinomas (EAs) of the endometrium. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with a diagnosis of EA, 23 patients with endometrial hyperplasia, and 32 age-matched controls with normal endometrial histology were recruited for this study. Serum ProGRP and cancer antigen 125 (CA125) values were compared between groups. RESULTS: Median serum ProGRP levels were significantly higher in the cancer group compared to corresponding levels in both the hyperplasia and control groups (p = 0.008 and p < 0.001 respectively; endometrial cancer: 27.5 pg/mL; hyperplasia: 16.1 pg/mL; controls: 12.9 pg/mL). Age and endometrial thickness were positively correlated with ProGRP levels (r = 0.322, p = 0.006 and r = 0.269, p = 0.023, respectively). Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analyses for EA revealed a threshold of 20.81 pg/mL, with a sensitivity of 60.7% and specificity of 81.4%, positive predictive value of 68% and negative predictive value of 76.1%. CONCLUSION: Significantly higher ProGRP levels were observed in patients with EA than in controls. Serum ProGRP has good diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for EA.

The preoperative serum CA125 can predict the lymph node metastasis in endometrioid-type endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the predictive value of preoperative CA125 in extra-uterine disease and its association with poor prognostic factors in endometrioid-type endometrial cancer (EC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 423 patients with pathologically proven endometrioid-type EC were included in the study. The association between preoperative CA125 level and surgical-pathological factors was evaluated. The conventional cut-off value was defined as 35 IU/mL. RESULTS: A high CA125 level ( > 35 IU/mL) was significantly associated with all of the studied poor prognostic factors, except grade. The risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) increased from 15.9% to 45.7% when CA125 level was > 35 IU/mL (p < 0.05). The optimal cut-off value for the prediction of LNM in patients aged > 50 years was determined to be 16 IU/mL (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 71%, 60%, 35%, and 87%, respectively.) Conclusions: Preoperative CA125 level was significantly related with the extent of the disease and LNM. The age-dependent cut-off level of CA125 can improve the prediction of LNM in endometrioid-type EC. For older patients, CA125 level of > 16 IU/ml could be used to predict LNM. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the appropriate cut-off level of CA125 for younger patients.

Is Neurosurgery With Adjuvant Radiotherapy an Effective Treatment Modality in Isolated Brain Involvement From Endometrial Cancer?: From Case Report to Analysis.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment options and post-brain involvement survival (PBIS) of patients with isolated brain involvement from endometrial cancer (EC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The literature electronic search was conducted from 1972 to May 2016 to identify articles about isolated (without extracranial metastases) brain involvement from EC at recurrence and the initial diagnosis. Forty-eight articles were found. After comprehensive evaluation of case series and case reports, the study included 49 cases. RESULTS: The median age of the patients at initial diagnosis was 57 years (range, 40-77 years). Poor differentiation was determined in 36 (73.5%) patients. Thirty-five (71.4%) patients had a single brain lesion. Lesion was found in the supratentorial part of the brain in 33 (67.3%) patients. Median PBIS for all cohorts was 13 months (range, 0.25-118 months) with 2-year PBIS of 52% and 5-year PBIS of 37%. Age, tumor type, grade, disease-free interval, diagnosis time of brain lesion, localization, and number of brain lesion were not predictive of PBIS. Two-year PBIS was 77% in patients who underwent surgical resection and radiotherapy, whereas it was 19% in the surgical resection-only group, and 20% in the primary radiotherapy-only group (Ps = 0.003 and 0.001, respectively). Chemotherapy was not associated with improved PBIS. CONCLUSIONS: Although neuroinvasion from EC appears mostly with a disseminated disease, there is a considerable amount of patients with isolated brain involvement who would have a higher chance of curability. Surgery with radiotherapy is the rational current management option, and this improves the survival for isolated brain involvement from EC.

Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients With Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer: Overtreatment Is the Main Issue.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of histological grade, depth of myometrial invasion, and tumor size to identify lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer (EC). METHODS: A retrospective computerized database search was performed to identify patients who underwent comprehensive surgical staging for EC between January 1993 and December 2015. The inclusion criterion was endometrioid type EC limited to the uterine corpus. The associations between LNM and surgicopathological factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: In total, 368 patients were included. Fifty-five patients (14.9%) had LNM. Median tumor sizes were 4.5 cm (range, 0.7-13 cm) and 3.5 cm (range, 0.4-33.5 cm) in patients with and without LNM, respectively (P = 0.005). No LMN was detected in patients without myometrial invasion, whereas nodal spread was observed in 7.7% of patients with superficial myometrial invasion and in 22.6% of patients with deep myometrial invasion (P < 0.0001). Lymph node metastasis tended to be more frequent in patients with grade 3 disease compared with those with grade 1 or 2 disease (P = 0.131). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of lymph node involvement was 30%, even in patients with the highest-risk uterine factors, that is, those who had tumors of greater than 2 cm, deep myometrial invasion, and grade 3 disease, indicating that 70% of these patients underwent unnecessary lymphatic dissection. A precise balance must be achieved between the desire to prevent unnecessary lymphadenectomy and the ability to diagnose LNM.

Uterine and Ovarian Carcinosarcomas: Do They Behave Similarly?

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the clinicopathologic characteristics, recurrence patterns, and survival of patients with ovarian carcinosarcomas (OCs) and uterine carcinosarcomas (UCs). METHODS: Patients who were diagnosed with UCs or OCs on the basis of final pathology reports and who underwent surgery between January 1993 and January 2015 were included in the study. Data of patients were obtained from Gynecological Oncology Clinic electronic database and patient files. RESULTS: The study included 101 and 21 patients who underwent surgery for UCs and OCs, respectively. Forty percent and 67% of patients who had UCs and OCs, respectively, experienced lymph node metastasis (P = 0.051). Median follow-up time was 12 months (range, 1-158 months) for patients with UCs and 24 months (range 1-154 months) for patients with OCs. Recurrence developed outside the abdomen in 58% of patients with UCs and in 10% of patients with OCs (P = 0.005). Median time to recurrence was 9 months (range 3-58 months) in patients with UCs, whereas it was 18 months (range 11-72 months) in patients with OCs (P = 0.002). Five-year disease-free survival was 34% and 19% for patients with UCs and OCs, respectively (P = 0.90). Five-year overall survival was 56% for patients with UCs and 54% for patients with OCs (P = 0.51). CONCLUSION: We found that UCs recurred earlier and extra-abdominally. Recurrence pattern should be kept in mind during the planning of adjuvant therapies for these patients.

Uterine adenosarcomas: A dual-institution experience.

There has been limited literature about treatment and follow-up strategies of uterine adenosarcomas because of their rare nature. For this study we retrospectively investigated the medical database of the two major womens' health hospitals in Turkey. A total of 15 patients were identified from the hospital's database. Median follow-up was 86.43 months for all patients. Seven out of 15 patients had recurrences during their follow-up. Among these 7 patients, 4 of them had stage IA disease. Median Disease Free Survival (DFS) and Overall Survival (OS) were calculated as 41.47 and 57.21 months, respectively. According to our study, polypoid tumours confined to the uterus with superficial myometrial invasion can be treated without comprehensive surgical staging. We believe that, publishing all the data in an organised manner even though they are small in size, gives us an opportunity to design meta-analysis for the development of more appropriate treatment strategies.

The Factors Predicting Recurrence in Patients With Serous Borderline Ovarian Tumor.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the characteristics, recurrence rates, survival, and factors associated with survival of patients with serous borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) who were operated on in a single institution. Our secondary goal was to evaluate the necessity of staging surgery and the importance of a comprehensive lymphadenectomy in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patients who were diagnosed in our institution between January 1990 and April 2014 with a final diagnosis of serous BOT were evaluated retrospectively. Kaplan-Meier method was used for analysis of progression-free survival (PFS). Univariate Cox proportional hazards model and log rank test were used for analysis of continuous and categorical variables affecting survival, respectively. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-one (75%) patients underwent staging surgery. Stage I disease was observed in 63%, stage III was observed in 11% of the patients, and only 0.6% of patients had stage II disease. Among 162 patients, 72 patients (44%) had conservative surgery. Eight (4.9%) patients had recurrence, one of which was invasive. All recurrences were in the patients who had conservative surgery. Median follow-up of the patients was 57 months (range, 37-270 years). Five- and 10-year PFS rates were 94.9% and 92.8%, respectively. In the univariate analysis of patients with serous BOT, PFS was worse in the presence of positive para-aortic lymph nodes, positive abdominal cytology, and conservative surgery (P = 0.008, P < 0.001, P = 0.007, respectively). The patients having noninvasive implant and advanced-stage disease had a tendency to have worse PFS (P = 0.067, P = 0.069, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Staging surgery generally gives us an idea of the probability of recurrence but not an idea of overall survival. Therefore, staging surgery including lymphadenectomy could be suggested to have information about the probability of recurrence and to be able to detect patients with an invasive implant that is the only probable factor affecting overall survival.

Prognostic Factors in Adult Granulosa Cell Tumor: A Long Follow-Up at a Single Center.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to demonstrate characteristics, recurrence rates, survival numbers, and factors associated with survival of patients with adult granulosa cell tumor (AGCT) from a single institution. Our secondary goal was to evaluate the necessity of staging surgery and the importance of a comprehensive lymphadenectomy in these patients. METHODS: The data of 158 patients in our institution who were diagnosed with AGCT between 1988 and 2013 were evaluated. The data were obtained from the files of the patients, electronic database of the gynecologic oncology clinic, operation notes, and pathology records. RESULTS: The median (range) age of the patients was 50.3 (22-82) years. The main symptom was postmenopausal bleeding (25.9%). Seventy-six percent of the patients underwent staging surgery including lymphadenectomy. Among these patients, 3 (2.5%) had lymph node metastasis. The median (range) follow-up time was 97 (1-296) months. In the follow-up period, 18 patients (12.5%) had recurrence. Menopausal status (P = 0.016), advanced age (P = 0.024), cyst rupture (P = 0.001), poorly differentiated tumor (P = 0.002), and advanced stage (P < 0.001) were associated with recurrence. Stage was the only independent prognostic factor for the development of recurrence. None of the patients had lymph node failure. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study with a long follow-up period and in which most of the patients had staging surgery including lymphadenectomy (76.6%), lymph node recurrence was not observed and the total recurrence rate (12.5%) was lower than that reported in the literature. The study showed the importance of surgical staging in patients with AGCT.

Bone recurrence rarely seen in endometrial cancer and review of the literature.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical findings and treatment results of patients with endometrial cancer (EC) who experienced initial recurrence or progression in bones. METHODS: Ten EC patients experiencing initial recurrence or disease progression in bones were included in the study. Disease recurrences located in a single bone and in more than one bone were defined as single localization bone recurrence (BR) and multiple localization BR, respectively. Time from initial surgery to BR was determined as disease-free interval (DFI) and time from BR to death or last contact with a patient was described as post-recurrence survival (PRS). RESULTS: Seven of 10 patients were asymptomatic. The median DFI was 13 months (range: 2-68). While eight patients had isolated BR, two patients also had concurrent extraosseous recurrences. Five patients had single and four patients had multiple localization BR. The most common sites for BR were the femur (55.5%) and vertebra (44.4%). Two-year PRS was 37.5% in all patients and 50% in patients with endometrioid EC. None of the patients with non-endometrioid type EC survived. In patients with multiple localization BR and with recurrence only occurred in the bones, two-year PRS was 75% and 50%, respectively. None of the patients with BR with extraosseous involvement survived beyond two years. Two-year PRS was 50% in patients without extraosseous dissemination, independent from localization. CONCLUSION: The BR rate was remarkable in asymptomatic EC survivors. A single bone was frequently involved. Little is known of the optimal treatment for metastatic bone disease in EC, thus, management should be individualized and patients should be encouraged to participate in clinical trials.

Salvage Cytoreductive Surgery for Recurrent Endometrial Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of salvage cytoreductive surgery (SCS) on overall survival (OS) among patients with recurrent endometrial cancer and if there is any predictor for residual tumor status. METHODS: Between January 1993 and May 2013, data of 34 patients who had SCS for recurrent endometrial cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Overall survival was determined from SCS to last follow-up. RESULTS: The surgical procedure was local excision without laparotomy in 12 patients, and optimal cytoreduction (no visible disease) was achieved in 24 of 34 patients. There were no perioperative deaths. None of the factors was associated with achievement of optimal cytoreduction. Five-year OS rates were 37% and 27% for the entire cohort and for the laparotomy group, respectively. For the entire cohort, disease-free interval (from initial surgery to recurrence), adjuvant therapy after initial surgery, CA-125 level at recurrence, multiplicity of recurrence, surgical procedure, and optimal cytoreduction and for the laparotomy group adjuvant treatment and optimal cytoreduction were associated with OS. In the laparotomy group, OS rates were 53 and 9 months in the patients who did and did not have optimal SCS, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Significant survival benefit can be achieved with optimal resection. Prospective studies should be designed to define optimal cytoreduction and to determine the predictors of optimal cytoreduction achievement.

Clinical outcomes of uterine carcinosarcoma: results of 94 patients.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the clinicopathologic features and identify prognostic factors of patients with uterine carcinosarcoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 94 patients with uterine carcinosarcoma who were diagnosed between January 1993 and October 2013 were included. Staging surgery consisted of total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, peritoneal cytology, and omentectomy. Staging is undertaken according to the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to determine the effects of variables on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Seventy-nine patients underwent staging surgery and none of them had residual tumor after surgery. Three-year DFS and 3-year OS were 42.7% and 59.2%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, stage, presence of para-aortic metastatic lymph nodes, uterine serosal spread, positive peritoneal cytology, and extrapelvic metastases were associated with 3-year DFS and stage, presence of para-aortic metastatic lymph nodes, uterine serosal spread, positive peritoneal cytology, adnexal involvement, and extrapelvic metastases were associated with 3-year OS. Seventy-four patients received adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant therapy did not reduce recurrence or improve survival. Any of the chemotherapy regimens was not superior to the others. In the multivariate analysis, only age was an independent prognostic factor for 3-year DFS and no parameter was statistically significant for 3-year OS. CONCLUSIONS: Age was an independent prognostic factor for 3-year DFS. Older age was associated with poor survival. Extrauterine spread was associated with survival. The aims of surgery should be both staging and providing tumoral debulking. Prospective randomized trials are needed to better define the necessity and modality of the administered adjuvant therapy.

Does Lymphadenectomy Improve Survival in Uterine Leiomyosarcoma?

INTRODUCTION: The role of lymphadenectomy in the management of uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is controversial. We aimed to identify whether lymph node dissection (LND) has any survival benefit in uterine LMS. METHODS: Data of 95 patients with histologically proven uterine LMS from 2 tertiary centers (1993 through 2009) were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used for analyses. RESULTS: Mean age was 51.5 years. Thirty-six (37.9%) underwent LND. The median lymph node count was 54. Eight (22.2%) patients had lymphatic metastasis. Median follow-up was 26 months. Sixty-two (65%) patients had recurrence and 48 (50.5%) died. Median disease-free survival (DFS) was 19 months for both group of patients who had or did not have LND, and median overall survival (OS) was 29 and 26 months, respectively (P = 0.4). Five-year DFS was 35.9% vs 26.8% (P = 0.4), and 5-year OS was 45.4% vs 43.8% (P = 0.22) for the groups. Multivariate analyses did not reveal a single independent prognostic factor in respect to DFS or OS. CONCLUSION: Higher rate of lymph node metastasis in patients with extrauterine disease indicated the importance of LND in LMS. However, the survival benefit of lymphadenectomy could not be shown.