Clinical calculator predictive of chemotherapy benefit in stage 1A uterine papillary serous cancers.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the utility of a clinical calculator to predict the benefit of chemotherapy in stage IA uterine papillary serous cancer (UPSC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were collected from NCDB from years 2010-2014. Based on demographic and surgical characteristics, a clinical score was developed using the random survival forest machine learning algorithm. RESULTS: Of 1,751 patients with stage IA UPSC, 1,012 (58%) received chemotherapy and 739 (42%) did not. Older age (HR 1.06), comorbidities (HR 1.31), larger tumor size (HR 1.27), lymphovascular invasion (HR 1.86), positive peritoneal cytology (HR 2.62), no pelvic lymph node dissection (HR 1.51), and no chemotherapy (HR 2.16) were associated with poorer prognosis. Compared to no chemotherapy, patients who underwent chemotherapy had a 5-year overall survival of 80% vs. 67%. To better delineate those who may derive more benefit from chemotherapy, we designed a clinical calculator capable of dividing patients into low, moderate, and high-risk groups with associated 5-year OS of 86%, 73%, and 53%, respectively. Using the calculator to assess the relative benefit of chemotherapy in each risk group, chemotherapy improved the 5-year OS in the high (42% to 64%; p < 0.001) and moderate risk group (66% to 79%; p < 0.001) but did not benefit the low risk group (84% to 87%; p = 0.29). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest a clinical calculator is useful for counseling and personalizing chemotherapy for stage IA UPSC.

Prognostic discrimination of subgrouping node-positive endometrioid uterine cancer: location vs nodal extent.

BACKGROUND: The 2009 International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians elected to substage patients with positive retroperitoneal lymph nodes as IIIC 1 (pelvic lymph node metastasis only) and IIIC 2 (paraaortic node metastasis with or with positive pelvic lymph nodes). We have investigated the discriminatory ability of subgrouping patients with retroperitoneal nodal involvement based on location, number, and ratio of positive nodes. METHODS: For 1075 patients with stage IIIC endometrioid corpus cancer abstracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results databases for 2003-2007, Kaplan-Meier analyses, Cox proportional hazard models, and other quantitative measures were used to compare the prognostic discrimination for disease-specific survival (DSS) of nodal subgroupings. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, the 3-year DSS were significantly different for subgroupings by location (IIIC 1 vs IIIC 2; 80.5% vs 67.0%, respectively, P=0.001), lymph node ratio (≤ 23.2% vs >23.2%; 80.8% vs 67.6%; P<0.001), and number of positive lymph nodes (1, 2-5, >5; 79.5, 75.4, 62.9%, P=0.016). The ratio of positive nodes showed superior discriminatory substaging in Cox models. CONCLUSION: Subgrouping of stage IIIC patients by the ratio of positive nodes, either as a dichotomized or continuous parameter, shows the strongest ability to discriminate the survival, controlling for other confounding factors.

Endometrial stromal sarcoma: a population-based analysis.

To determine independent prognostic factors for the survival of patients with endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS), data were abstracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database of the National Cancer Institute from 1988 to 2003. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were used for analyses. Of 831 women diagnosed with ESS, the median age was 52 years (range: 17-96 years). In total, 59.9% had stage I, 5.1% stage II, 14.9% stage III, and 20.1% had stage IV disease. Overall, 13.0, 36.1, and 34.7% presented with grades 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Patients with stage I-II vs III-IV disease had 5 years DSS of 89.3% vs 50.3% (P<0.001) and those with grades 1, 2, and 3 cancers had survivals of 91.4, 95.4, and 42.1% (P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, older patients, black race, advanced stage, higher grade, lack of primary surgery, and nodal metastasis were independent prognostic factors for poorer survival. In younger women (<50 years) with stage I-II disease, ovarian-sparing procedures did not adversely impact survival (91.9 vs 96.2%; P=0.1). Age, race, primary surgery, stage, and grade are important prognostic factors for ESS. Excellent survival in patients with grade 1 and 2 disease of all stages supports the concept that these tumors are significantly different from grade 3 tumors. Ovarian-sparing surgeries may be considered in younger patients with early-stage disease.

The impact of the absolute number and ratio of positive lymph nodes on survival of endometrioid uterine cancer patients.

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of the absolute number and ratio of positive lymph nodes on the survival in node-positive endometrioid uterine cancer. Data were obtained from the National Cancer Institute Registry from 1988 to 2001. Analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard methods. A total of 1222 women were diagnosed with stage IIIC-IV node-positive endometrioid corpus cancer. The 5-year disease-specific survival of women with 1, 2-5, and >5 positive nodes were 68.1, 55.1, and 46.1%, respectively (P<0.001). Increasing lymph node ratio, expressed as a percentage of positive nodes to total nodes identified (10-50%), was associated with a decrease in survival from 77.3 to 60.7 to 40.9%, respectively (P<0.001). The absolute number of positive nodes and the lymph node ratio remained significant after adjusting for stage (IIIC vs IV) and the extent of lymphadenectomy (20 nodes). On multivariate analysis, the absolute number of positive nodes and lymph node ratio were significant independent prognostic factors for survival. Increasing absolute number of positive nodes and lymph node ratio are associated with a poorer survival in women with node-positive uterine cancers. The stratification of node-positive uterine cancer for prognostic and treatment purposes warrants further investigation.

The potential therapeutic role of lymph node resection in epithelial ovarian cancer: a study of 13918 patients.

The aim of the study is to determine the role of lymphadenectomy in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. The data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program reported between 1988 and 2001. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used for analysis. Of 13 918 women with stage III-IV epithelial ovarian cancer (median age: 64 years), 87.9% were Caucasian, 5.6% African Americans, and 4.4% Asians. A total of 4260 (30.6%) underwent lymph node dissections with a median number of six nodes reported. For all patients, a more extensive lymph node dissection (0, 1, 2-5, 6-10, 11-20, and >20 nodes) was associated with an improved 5-year disease-specific survival of 26.1, 35.2, 42.6, 48.4, 47.5, and 47.8%, respectively (P<0.001). Of the stage IIIC patients with nodal metastases, the extent of nodal resection (1, 2-5, 6-10, 11-20, and >20 nodes) was associated with improved survivals of 36.9, 45.0, 47.8, 48.7, and 51.1%, respectively (P=0.023). On multivariate analysis, the extent of lymph node dissection and number of positive nodes were significant independent prognosticators after adjusting for age, year at diagnosis, stage, and grade of disease. The extent of lymphadenectomy is associated with an improved disease-specific survival of women with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer in younger vs older women: a population-based analysis.

To compare the clinico-pathologic prognostic factors and survival of younger vs older women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer. Demographic, clinico-pathologic, treatment, and surgery information were obtained from patients with ovarian cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program from 1988 to 2001 and analysed using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Of 28 165 patients, 400 were <30 years (very young), 11 601 were 30-60 (young), and 16 164 were >60 (older) years of age. Of the very young, young, and older patients, 261 (65.3%), 4664 (40.2%), and 3643 (22.5%) had stage I-II disease, respectively (P<0.001). Across all stages, very young women had a significant survival advantage over the young and older groups with 5-year disease-specific survival estimates at 78.8% vs 58.8 and 35.3%, respectively (P<0.001). This survival difference between the age groups persists even after adjusting for race, stage, grade, and surgical treatment. Reproductive age (16-40 years) women with stage I-II epithelial ovarian cancer who received uterine-sparing procedures had similar survivals compared to those who underwent standard surgery (93.3% vs 91.5%, P=0.26). Younger women with epithelial ovarian cancer have a survival advantage compared to older patients.

Uterine papillary serous and clear cell carcinomas predict for poorer survival compared to grade 3 endometrioid corpus cancers.

To compare the survival of women with uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) and clear cell carcinoma (CC) to those with grade 3 endometrioid uterine carcinoma (G3EC). Demographic, pathologic, treatment, and survival information were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program from 1988 to 2001. Data were analysed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression methods. Of 4180 women, 1473 had UPSC, 391 had CC, and 2316 had G3EC cancers. Uterine papillary serous carcinoma and CC patients were older (median age: 70 years and 68 vs 66 years, respectively; P<0.0001) and more likely to be black compared to G3EC (15 and 12% vs 7%; P<0.0001). A higher proportion of UPSC and CC patients had stage III-IV disease compared to G3EC patients (52 and 36% vs 29%; P<0.0001). Uterine papillary serous carcinoma, CC and G3EC patients represent 10, 3, and 15% of endometrial cancers but account for 39, 8, and 27% of cancer deaths, respectively. The 5-year disease-specific survivals for women with UPSC, CC and G3EC were 55, 68, and 77%, respectively (P<0.0001). The survival differences between UPSC, CC and G3EC persist after controlling for stage I-II (74, 82, and 86%; P<0.0001) and stage III-IV disease (33, 40, and 54; P<0.0001). On multivariate analysis, more favourable histology (G3EC), younger age, and earlier stage were independent predictors of improved survival. Women with UPSC and CC of the uterus have a significantly poorer prognosis compared to those with G3EC. These findings should be considered in the counselling, treating and designing of future trials for these high-risk patients.

External beam radiotherapy for synchronous rectal and prostatic tumors.

Two patients were diagnosed with large rectal tumors and localized prostate cancer. The prostate-specific antigen level at diagnosis was 7.9 ng/mL and 9.0 ng/mL in the 2 patients. Knowledge of the presence of both tumors and their close proximity allowed creation of a modified three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy plan to treat both tumors. The patients had no evidence of rectal tumor recurrence and their prostate-specific antigen level was 0.5 ng/mL and 0.7 ng/mL at 1 and 2 years after therapy, respectively. We conclude that efficient, effective pelvic irradiation can be designed for synchronous rectal and prostate malignancies.

Treatment of high-risk uterine cancer with whole abdominopelvic radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the treatment outcomes in patients with optimally debulked Stage III and IV endometrial adenocarcinoma (ACA) or Stages I-IV uterine papillary serous (UPSC) or clear cell (CCC) carcinoma of the uterus, treated postoperatively with whole abdominopelvic irradiation (WAPI). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between 1979 and 1998, 48 patients received postoperative WAPI at our institution. Twenty-two patients had FIGO Stage III or Stage IV ACA and 26 patients had FIGO Stages I-IV UPSC or CCC. The median dose was 30 Gy to the upper abdomen and 49.8 Gy to the pelvis. Mean follow-up was 37 months (2.4-135 months). RESULTS: The 3-year estimated disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates for the entire group were 60% and 77%, respectively. Patients with ACA had 3-year DFS and OS of 79% and 89%, respectively, compared with 47% and 68% in the UPSC/CCC group. Early-stage patients (I and II) with UPSC/CCC had 3-year DFS and OS of 87% compared with 32% and 61% in those with advanced (Stage III and IV) disease. The 3-year actuarial major complication rate was 7%, with no treatment-related deaths. All 4 failures in the ACA group were extra-abdominal and 6 of the 11 in the UPSC/CCC group had an extra-abdominal component. Age and UPSC/CCC histology were significant prognostic factors for DFS and OS. In addition, stage and number of extrauterine sites of disease were significant predictors for DFS in UPSC/CCC. CONCLUSION: WAPI is a safe, effective treatment for patients with optimally debulked advanced-stage uterine ACA or early-stage UPSC/CCC. Survival was significantly worse in advanced-stage UPSC/CCC patients. We recommend future trials of WAPI with concurrent, or subsequent systemic therapy in patients with advanced-stage UPSC or CCC.

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the vagina. A case report and literature review.

Primary vaginal leiomyosarcoma is a rare tumor. We report a unique case of a 27-year-old woman with stage I, high-grade primary leiomyosarcoma of the vagina treated with surgical resection and adjuvant radiation therapy. She returned within 6 months with an abdominal-pelvic recurrence and lung metastases. The patient died of disease 9 months after diagnosis. A comprehensive review of primary vaginal leiomyosarcoma was performed and factors affecting survival were analyzed. A Medline search of the English-language literature revealed 66 previously reported cases. Forty-eight of these had follow-up data. Survival probabilities were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the effects of age, stage, grade, tumor location, and treatment modality were analyzed. Stage III and IV data were combined. The overall 5-year survival rate was 43%. Patients more than 50 years of age had a 5-year survival rate of 26% compared with 51% for those less than 40 years. Five-year survival for stage I and II tumors was 55% and 44%, respectively. Patients with stage III/IV disease had 25% survival at 18 months. No patient treated primarily with chemotherapy or radiation therapy survived beyond 36 months. In contrast, patients treated primarily with surgery had a 5-year survival rate of 57%. Only stage remained an independent predictor of survival on Cox regression analysis. We continue to recommend surgical resection as primary treatment. Exenteration may be an option for select patients, but ultimately management should continue on a case-by-case basis.

Malignant granular cell tumor of the vulva in a 17-year-old: Case report and literature review.

Granular cell tumors are uncommon soft tissue tumors. Although the majority of these tumors are benign, a rare malignant variant exists which is aggressive, with local recurrence rates up to 70% and 3-year survival rates of less than 50%. We present a case of malignant granular cell tumor of the vulva in a 17-year-old, the sixth such case to be reported at this site. She was treated with a left hemivulvectomy and ipsilateral groin node dissection followed by postoperative radiation therapy. She remains free of disease at 16 months. Patients with malignant granular cell tumor or granular cell tumor of malignant potential are best managed with wide local excision and regional lymph node dissection.

What is the significance of nasal involvement in nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to differentiate the patterns of nasal fossa involvement in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to clarify its prognostic influence on local control and survival after radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between November 1989 and July 1991, 218 patients with histologically proven local-regional NPC were treated with radiotherapy following the protocol at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Shantou University School of Medicine. All patients had pretreatment CT scans. Fiberoptic endoscopic examination was performed every week during treatment and at the time of every follow-up visit to define the initial extent of disease and to evaluate treatment response. No chemotherapy or brachytherapy was given. RESULTS: Of the 218 patients, 87 had nasal involvement. Sixty of them had a pattern of mucosal infiltration (MI), another 27 had an exophytic protruding (EP) component. The likelihood of residual disease after irradiation, the local relapse rate, 5-year freedom from progression rate (FFP), and death rate associated with local relapse (DRALR) of MI and EP were 36.7% vs. 3.7%, 30.0% vs. 7.4%, 26.7% vs. 51.8%, and 25.0% vs. 3.7% with p<0.004, p<0.005, p<0.02, and p<0.03, respectively. Multivariate analysis in this selected group demonstrated that infiltration of nasal fossa mucosa was an independent prognostic factor on primary control and freedom from progression. CONCLUSION: Differentiation of nasal fossa involvement according to MI or EP is of value in predicting the outcome of treatment. We suggest that only the MI group should be considered as nasal involvement in the staging of NPC.

The prognostic significance of peritoneal seeding and size of postsurgical residual in patients with stage III epithelial ovarian cancer treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and high-dose radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the prognostic importance of age, histologic type and grade, ascites, lymph node status, size and type of postoperative residual disease, and radiation dose on disease-specific (DSS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in stage III epithelial ovarian cancer patients who had been treated with radical surgery, postoperative chemotherapy, and high-dose radiotherapy. METHODS: Consolidation radiotherapy including whole abdominal radiation, pelvic, and upper abdominal boosts was employed in 46 patients who showed no evidence of residual or progressive disease after completion of multiagent chemotherapy. The median follow-up for all patients was 36 months and 103 months for patients at risk. The prognostic impact of pretreatment and treatment parameters on DSS and PFS was tested in univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The 5-year DSS and PFS rates for all patients were 38 and 33%, and for patients with 0-< or =2 cm residual tumor 65 and 61%, respectively. In univariate analysis, initial peritoneal seeding (both: P = 0.02), ascites (P = 0.03; 0.01), size of residual (0-< or =2 cm vs >2 cm), and residual miliary subdiaphragmatic (MDS) and localized peritoneal seeding (LPS) in the upper abdomen (P = 0.0002; 0.0003) were significantly correlated with DSS and PFS. Dose of radiation (< or =30 vs >30 Gy) correlated with DSS only (P = 0.02). In multivariate analysis size of residual disease (0-< or =2 cm vs >2 cm and/or MDS or LPS) remained the only independent prognostic factor for DSS and PFS (both; P = 0. 001). CONCLUSION: Patients with localized peritoneal seeding who were rendered free of disease elsewhere had an outcome equally poor as that of patients with gross residuals (>2 cm) in the upper abdomen. If our findings can be confirmed, attempted resection of all localized seeding in patients who are otherwise cytoreducible to no or minimal residual disease may be considered in combination with Taxol-containing regimens as are now being utilized for patients with gross disease.

Prognostic factors in patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix treated with external beam irradiation and IR-192 high-dose-rate brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: Prognostic factors in cancer of the cervix for patients treated with external beam irradiation (EBR) and low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy have been characterized. However, despite the increasing use of high-dose-rate (HDR) intracavitary placements (ICP), few studies with adequate follow-up have analyzed prognostic factors. This study investigates pretreatment and treatment factors for their correlation with treatment outcome after EBR and HDR-ICP. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between September 1985 and December 1994, 181 patients with carcinoma of the cervix FIGO stages IB-IV received EBR and HDR brachytherapy. Hemoglobin (Hb) levels were maintained above a level of 11 g/dl during the treatment by transfusion. Patient age ranged from 34 to 84 years (median: 66). The median follow-up time for patients at risk is 69 months (range: 23-140). Pretreatment and treatment parameters analyzed to determine their prognostic value included age, FIGO stage, tumor size, tumor type and grade, pretreatment Hb level, number of HDR-ICP, total dose from HDR-ICP, overall dose to point A, and overall treatment time. Also evaluated was the prognostic value of enlarged lymph nodes noted on pretreatment CAT scan of the abdomen and pelvis. Endpoints studied in uni- and multivariate analyses were disease-specific survival (DSS), freedom from disease (FFD), pelvic control (PC), and probability of distant metastases (DM). RESULTS: At 5 years the DSS, FFD, and PC rates for all patients were 60%, 58%, and 67%, respectively. The 5-year FFD by stage was: IB: 94%; II: 63%; IIIB: 43%; and IV: 0%. The PC rates were 94%, 66%, 59%, and 0%, respectively. In univariate analysis the prognostic factors identified for FFD were FIGO stage, tumor size, initial Hb level, and enlarged pelvic and/or paraaortic nodes (all: p < 0.0001). Age was inversely correlated with outcome (p = 0.0081). The 5-year FFD rates for tumors (< 3, > or = 3 < 6, > or = 6 cm) were 97%, 65%, and 24%; patients with initial Hb levels < or = 11g/dl had a FFD of 26% versus 69% for patients with levels > 11g/dl; and those with pelvic and/or paraaortal nodes > or = 1 cm had a survival of 32% versus 68% in patients with negative readings. The same factors were also prognostically significant for DSS, PC, and DM. Patients with persistent disease or pelvic failures had a significantly higher incidence of DM than patients in whom pelvic disease was controlled (p < 0.0001).Histological and treatment parameters including overall treatment time were not of prognostic significance for any of the endpoints studied. In multivariate analysis tumor size was the most powerful parameter for DSS, FFD, PC (p < 0.0001) and DM (p = 0.0001), followed by low initial Hb level (DSS: p = 0.0004, FFD: p = 0.0009, PC: p = 0.0012, DM: p = 0.0265), and enlarged pelvic and/or paraaortic nodes which were predictive for DSS (p = 0.0210) and DM (p = 0.0011). CONCLUSION: This study confirms that prognostic factors for patients treated with HDR brachytherapy are similar to those reported in previous series that employed LDR brachytherapy. The significance of tumor size, pretreatment Hb level, and enlarged pelvic and/or paraaortic lymph nodes on CAT scan over FIGO stage of disease were demonstrated. Future prospective trials should be undertaken to confirm the validity of these factors and to elucidate their therapeutic implications.

Long-term survival with whole abdominopelvic irradiation in platinum-refractory persistent or recurrent ovarian cancer.

The purpose of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of whole abdominopelvic irradiation (WAI) in patients with persistent or recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma who failed chemotherapy. Between 1970 and 1995, 41 women with persistent or recurrent ovarian carcinoma after initial treatment with surgical debulking and chemotherapy (4 to 18 cycles; median, 8) were treated with WAI. Thirty-one patients had received platinum-based regimens, and 22 of these had failed within 6 months after completion of chemotherapy ("platinum-refractory"). Prior to WAI, 11 (27%) patients had microscopic residual disease, 21 (51%) had gross residual disease up to 1.5 cm, and 9 (22%) had residual tumors greater than 1.5 cm in maximal diameter. Median doses of 28 Gy to the abdomen and 48 Gy to the pelvis were delivered using open-field techniques and liver and kidney shielding. With follow-up of 1 month to 16.5 years (median potential follow-up, 1.4 years), the 5-year actuarial disease-specific survival was 47% in all 41 patients, and 50% in the 22 platinum-refractory patients. Both residual tumor size at WAI (P < 10(-4)) and initial stage (P = 0.003) were of prognostic value. Five-year disease-specific survival of all patients with residual tumors less than 1.5 cm was 53%; 0% for patients with tumors greater than 1.5 cm. Five-year disease-specific survivals by initial stage were: stage I and II, 75%; stage III, 40%; and stage IV, 15%. Stage I, II, or III patients with residual disease up to 1.5 cm before WAI had a 10-year actuarial disease-specific survival of 40%. Twelve patients (29%) failed to complete the planned course of WAI due to acute toxicity (most often due to prolonged thrombocytopenia). Late toxicity (requiring surgery) included bowel obstruction in two patients and fistula in one patient. Whole abdominopelvic irradiation should be considered in selected patients who fail initial chemotherapy, especially in patients who can or have been debulked to small amounts of residual disease. With acceptable toxicity, WAI results appear to be as good as or better than second-line chemotherapy, particularly in platinum-refractory patients.

Carcinoma of the cervix: analysis of complications after primary external beam radiation and Ir-192 HDR brachytherapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is still a concern that the use of HDR brachytherapy might result in an increase of late tissue damage. This restrospective study evaluates the incidence and severity of late complications in patients with carcinoma of the cervix who underwent combined external beam radiation (EBR) and Ir-192 HDR brachytherapy and attempts to identify pretreatment and treatment parameters correlating with late complications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1985 and 1992, 161 patients with carcinoma of the cervix (FIGO stages IB-IVB) received EBR to the pelvis (ave, max. dose 48.8 Gy) followed by 1-6 Ir-192 HDR placements (median 2). Doses to point A ranged from 8.5 to 38.7 Gy (median 17 Gy). Parameters examined included age, diabetes, obesity, history of inflammatory bowel disease or diverticulitis, prior surgery, hemoglobin level, FIGO stage, EBR dose, technique and daily dose fraction, number of HDR treatments and total dose to point A, maximum doses to bladder and rectum delivered by brachytherapy and cumulative dose to point A. Median follow-up for all patients was 37 months. Complications were rated using an in-house scoring system and according to the French-Italian Glossary (FIG). RESULTS: Actuarial 5-year survival was 93%, 57%, 46%, and 0% for stages IB, II, IIIB, and IV, respectively. Of 161 patients, 11% developed moderate and 3.7% severe sequelae (FIG: 2.5%, 3.7%). Since some patients experienced more than one complication, the overall incidence was 13.6% and 4.9% (FIG: 3.1%, 4.9%) with respective 5-year actuarial rates of 14% and 5% for moderate, and 2% and 8% for severe bowel and genitourinary tract complications (FIG: 3.5%, 0, and 2%, 8%). All severe bowel complications occurred within 1.5 years whereas urinary tract sequelae continued to develop throughout the follow-up period. FIGO stage was associated with a significant increase in late sequelae (P = 0.015). Analysis of the remaining pretreatment and treatment parameters failed to reveal any statistically significant correlation with moderate or severe sequelae. CONCLUSION: In our series using HDR brachytherapy, complication and survival rates were comparable with other series employing either LDR or HDR procedures. Of all parameters analysed, stage of disease was the only parameter significantly correlated with complications in univariate and multivariate analysis.

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis of the uterus simulating high-stage endometrial stromal sarcoma.

Symptomatic uterine lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) simulating high-stage uterine sarcoma in a patient with tuberous sclerosis complex is reported. A 49-year-old female presented with abdominal pain and anemia. Preoperative workup revealed a uterine mass and a large amount of peritoneal free fluid and possible metastatic implant along the lateral edge of the liver. The patient also had a large right pleural effusion. A fungating anterior uterine fundal mass with apparent perforation and intraabdominal hemorrhage was found on laparotomy. A portion of the mass was excised and initially interpreted as an endometrial stromal sarcoma. Microscopic examination revealed multiple vascular epithelioid smooth muscle proliferations in the uterus and serosal surface of the fallopian tube and periaortic lymph node lymphangioleiomyomas. The uterine, fallopian tube, and nodal lesions were positive for smooth muscle actin, desmin, and HMB-45, findings characteristic of LAM. Additional examination of the patient revealed stigmata of tuberous sclerosis complex. Although uterine LAM is uncommon, it may be associated with pelvic and/or abdominal symptoms and may simulate a primary uterine mesenchymal neoplasm.