A retrospective study of Pipelle endometrial biopsy for ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers.

OBJECTIVES: Although the Pipelle endometrial biopsy is widely performed as a practical and minimally invasive test for endometrial disease(s), its effectiveness in ovarian cancer has not been explored. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the results of Pipelle endometrial biopsy for ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers. METHODS: A pre-treatment Pipelle-endometrial biopsy was performed in 90 patients with ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancers between January 2014 and November 2021. We retrospectively analysed the association between the results of Pipelle endometrial biopsy and clinicopathological data. Moreover, we evaluated their impact on the following treatment in advanced cases initially treated with chemotherapy. RESULTS: The sensitivity and false-negative rates for Pipelle endometrial biopsy were 25/90 (27.8%) and 65/90 (72.2%) in all patients, respectively, and 23/56 (41.0%) and 33/56 (58.9%) in cases with advanced disease (stages III and IV), respectively. Pipelle-positive endometrial biopsy-positive (Pipelle-positive) was not observed in 29 patients with clinical stage I disease, and Pipelle-positive patients exhibited significantly more high-grade serous carcinomas, and positive peritoneal, endometrial, and cervical cytologies than Pipelle-endometrial biopsy-negative cases. Surgical pathology was confirmed in 23 Pipelle-positive patients, and 17/23 (74.0%) had the same diagnosis as that for Pipelle endometrial biopsy. Conversely, 6/23 (26.0%) patients exhibited a minor diagnostic discrepancy between Pipelle endometrial biopsy and surgical pathology. Nineteen of the 38 (50.0%) patients initially treated with chemotherapy were identified as Pipelle-positive, contributing to a prompt histological diagnosis and pre-treatment tumour sampling. Companion diagnostic tests were performed using Pipelle endometrial biopsy samples from 4 inoperable patients. CONCLUSION: Although the positive rate of Pipelle endometrial biopsy in ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers is low, Pipelle endometrial biopsy may enable prompt histological diagnosis and initiation of chemotherapy while collecting tumour tissue for genetic testing in some cases with advanced disease.

The effectiveness of pre-treatment Pipelle endometrial biopsy for ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers remains unclear. This study demonstrated that Pipelle endometrial biopsy may enable prompt histological diagnosis and initiation of chemotherapy while collecting tumour tissue for genetic testing in some cases with advanced disease. This was a single-centre, retrospective study; as such, the effectiveness of Pipelle endometrial biopsy should be evaluated in larger prospective studies, including comparisons with other tumour sampling methods.

Successful treatment of advanced squamous cell carcinoma arising from mature cystic teratoma of the ovary with homologous recombination deficiency: A case report.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising from mature cystic teratoma of the ovary (MCT-SCC) has a poor prognosis at advanced stages. Although the relationship between homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and platinum-based chemotherapy sensitivity or poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor efficacy in epithelial ovarian cancer has been demonstrated in clinical trials, the significance of HRD status in MCT-SCC has not previously been described. CASE PRESENTATION: A 73-year-old woman underwent emergency laparotomy due to ovarian tumor rupture. The ovarian tumor was strongly adherent to the surrounding pelvic organs and could not be completely resected. The postoperative diagnosis was stage IIIB MCT-SCC (pT3bNXM0) of the left ovary. After surgery, we conducted the myChoice CDx. The genomic instability (GI) score of 87 was remarkably high, and there was no BRCA1/2 pathogenic mutation. After six courses of combination therapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin, the residual tumors had shrunk by 73 %. We performed interval debulking surgery (IDS), and the residual tumors were completely resected. Subsequently, the patient underwent two courses of the combination of paclitaxel, carboplatin, and bevacizumab, followed by maintenance therapy with olaparib and bevacizumab. Twelve months after IDS, no recurrence has been observed. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: The present case suggests that there are some HRD cases among MCT-SCC patients and that IDS and maintenance therapy with PARP inhibitors may be effective in such cases, as in epithelial ovarian cancer. CONCLUSION: Although the frequency of HRD-positive status in MCT-SCC remains unknown, HRD testing may provide appropriate treatment options for advanced MCT-SCC.

Ectopic pregnancy following oral levonorgestrel emergency contraception use.

Levonorgestrel is used worldwide as an emergency oral contraceptive. There have been occasional reports of ectopic pregnancy after oral levonorgestrel use. We present a case of ectopic tubal pregnancy after the use of oral levonorgestrel as an emergency contraceptive in a 37-year-old woman with a history of treatment for Chlamydia trachomatis infection. She conceived after sexual intercourse on menstrual day 14 of the first menstrual cycle following a normal delivery. After salpingectomy for this right tubal pregnancy, her following pregnancy was an ectopic pregnancy in the contralateral tube, which was treated with laparoscopic salpingectomy. Histopathological examination revealed endometriosis. We should be aware of ectopic pregnancy even after emergency contraceptive use, especially in patients with risk factors, such as Chlamydia infection and endometriosis. Because the efficacy of levonorgestrel decreases after ovulation, we should check the stage of the cycle before prescription.