Impact of perioperative characteristics on the recurrence risk and survival of patients with uterine leiomyosarcoma.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the impact of perioperative characteristics on the risk of recurrence in patients with uterine leiomyosarcomas. METHODS: A sub-analysis of the SARComa of the UTerus (SARCUT) study, which is a multicentric cross-sectional pan-European study that included 390 patients diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, between 2001 and 2007. Perioperative factors related to risk of recurrence and survival were analyzed. RESULTS: The 5-year and 10-year disease-free survivals (DFS) were 46% and 55%, respectively. Overall survival at 5 and 10 years was 34% and 47%, respectively. The most important factors related to global recurrence were the incomplete cytoreduction (hazard ratio [HR] 2.87; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.91-4.31); performing bilateral adnexectomy (HR 2.71; 95% CI 1.23-5.93); tumor persistence after any treatment (HR 2.38; 95% CI 1.39-4.06); and adjuvant chemotherapy administration (HR 2.55; 95% CI 1.82-3.58) or adjuvant radiotherapy (HR 2.26; 95% CI 1.53-3.32). The major factors significantly associated with pelvic relapse were tumor persistence after any treatment (HR 3.63; 95% CI 1.83-7.20) and adjuvant radiotherapy (HR 2.74; 95% CI 1.44-5.20). Incomplete cytoreduction was the most important factor associated with distant relapse (HR 1.91; 95% CI 1.22-2.97). The most important factors related to overall survival were tumor persistence after any treatment (HR 4.59; 95% CI 2.51-8.40), incomplete cytoreduction (HR 3.68; 95% CI 2.44-5.56), tumor margin involvement (HR 2.41; 95% CI 1.64-3.55) and adjuvant chemotherapy (HR 1.91; 95% CI 1.31-2.78). CONCLUSIONS: Complete cytoreduction is the main prognosis factor impacting the DFS and overall survival of patients with uterine leiomyosarcoma. Adjuvant chemotherapy administration was associated with decreased rates of DFS and overall survival. The adjuvant radiotherapy was associated with a higher risk of global recurrence.

Impact of Hospital Case Volume on Uterine Sarcoma Prognosis: SARCUT Study Subanalysis.

BACKGROUND: High-complexity and low-prevalence procedures benefit from treatment by referral centers. The volume of cases necessary to maintain high training in the treatment of gynecologic sarcoma is currently unknown. This study aimed to determine differences in survival and recurrence as a function of the volume of patients treated per center. METHODS: The multicentric cross-sectional SARComa of the Uterus (SARCUT) study retrospectively collected cases of uterine sarcomas from 44 centers in Europe from January 2001 to December 2007. The survival of patients treated in high case-volume (HighCV) centers was compared with the survival of patients treated in low case-volume (LowCV) centers. RESULTS: The study enrolled 966 patients: 753 in the LowCV group and 213 in the HighCV. Overall survival (OS) was 117 months, and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was 126 months. The difference was significant (respectively p = 0.0003 and 0.0004, log rank). After adjustment for other confounding factors, the remaining significant factors were age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.05), histology (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.06-1.34), extrauterine involvement (HR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.24-2.10) and persistent disease after treatment (HR, 3.22; 95% CI, 2.49-4.18). The cytoreduction performed was significantly associated with the CSS and OS in both groups. The log rank for surgical cytoreduction was a p value lower than 0.0001 for OS, lower than 0.0001 for the LowCV centers, and 0.0032 for the HighCV centers. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis for patients with uterine sarcoma is directly related to complete tumor cytoreduction, histologic type, and FIGO stage, with significant differences between low and high case-volume centers. Patients with uterine sarcomas should be centralized in HighCV centers to improve their oncologic outcomes.

Lymph node dissection in uterine leiomyosarcomas: A matched-pair study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of the lymph node dissection (LND) in the disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of the women treated surgically of uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A multicentric retrospective study was conducted among European countries collecting patients diagnosed of uterine sarcoma (SARcoma of the UTerus - SARCUT study). A total of 390 ULMS were selected for the present study to compare patients who underwent LND and those who did not. A further matched-pair subanalysis identified 116 women, 58 pairs (58 with LND and 58 without it) comparable in age, tumor size, surgical procedures, extrauterine disease and adjuvant treatment. Demographic data, pathology results and follow-up were abstracted from medical records and analyzed. Disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were studied using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: Among the 390 patients, the 5-year DFS was significantly higher in no-LDN group comparing to the LDN group (57.7% vs. 33.0%; HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.19-2.56; p = 0.007), but not the 5-year OS (64.6% vs. 64.3%; HR 1,10 95% CI 0,77-1,79; p = 0.704). In the matched-pair subanalysis, there were no statistical differences between the study groups. The 5- year DFS was 50.5% in the no-LND and 33.0% in the LND group (HR 1.38; 95% CI 0,83-2.31; p = 0,218) and the 5-year OS was 59.7% and 64.3% respectively (HR 0.81; 95% CI 0,45-1,49; p = 0,509). CONCLUSIONS: LND performed in women diagnosed of ULMS have no impact neither in the disease-free nor in the overall survival compared to patients without LDN in a complete homogeneous group.

Prognostic factors in patients with uterine sarcoma: the SARCUT study.

OBJECTIVE: Uterine sarcomas are a rare and heterogeneous group of malignancies that include different histological sub-types. The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the impact of the different prognostic factors on overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with uterine sarcoma. METHODS: This international multicenter retrospective study included 683 patients diagnosed with uterine sarcoma at 46 different institutions between January 2001 and December 2007. RESULTS: The 5-year overall survival for leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, and adenosarcoma was 65.3%, 78.3%, 52.4%, and 89.5%, respectively, and the 5-year disease-free survival was 54.3%, 68.1%, 40.3%, and 85.3%, respectively. The 10-year overall survival for leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma and adenosarcoma was 52.6%, 64.8%, 52.4%, and 79.5%, respectively, and the 10-year disease-free survival was 44.7%, 53.3%, 40.3%, and 77.5%, respectively. The most significant factor associated with overall survival in all types of sarcoma except for adenosarcoma was the presence of residual disease after primary treatment. In adenosarcoma, disease stage at diagnosis was the most important factor (hazard ratio 17.7; 95% CI 2.86 to 109.93). CONCLUSION: Incomplete cytoreduction, tumor persistence, advanced stage, extra-uterine and tumor margin involvement, and the presence of necrosis were relevant prognostic factors significantly affecting overall survival in uterine sarcoma. The presence of lymph vascular space involvement and administration of adjuvant chemotherapy were significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse.

Prognostic factors in undifferentiated uterine sarcoma: a subanalysis of the SARCUT study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the prognostic factors related to the recurrence rate and overall survival of patients with undifferentiated uterine sarcoma. METHODS: An international multicenter study involving 43 international centers, the SARCUT study, collected 966 uterine sarcoma cases; among them 39 cases corresponded to undifferentiated uterine sarcoma and where included in the present subanalysis. The risk factors related to the oncological outcomes where analyzed. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 63 (range 14-85) years. Seventeen (43.5%) patients presented FIGO stage I. The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 15.3% and 12-months disease-free survival (DFS) 41%. FIGO stage I was significantly associated with a better prognosis. In addition, patients who received adjuvant radiotherapy showed significant longer disease-free survival compared to those without adjuvant radiotherapy (20.5 vs. 4.0 months, respectively; p = 0.04) and longer overall survival (34.7 vs. 18.2 months, respectively; p = 0.05). Chemotherapy administration was associated with shorter DFS (HR 4.41, 95% CI 1.35-14.43, p = 0.014). Persistent disease after primary treatment (HR = 6.86, 95% CI 1.51-31.09, p = 0.012) and FIGO stage IV (HR 4.12, 95%CI 1.37-12.44, p = 0.011) showed significant worse prognosis for OS. CONCLUSION: FIGO stage seems to be the most important prognostic factor in patients with undifferentiated uterine sarcoma. Adjuvant radiotherapy seems to be significantly associated also to a better disease-free and overall survival. On the contrary, the role of chemotherapy administration remains unclear since was associated to a shorted DFS.

Influence of Clinical and Surgical Factors on Uterine Carcinosarcoma Survival.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of prognostic factors on the survival of patients diagnosed with uterine carcinosarcoma. METHODS: A sub-analysis of the SARCUT study, a multicentric retrospective European study, was carried out. We selected 283 cases of diagnosed uterine carcinosarcoma for the present study. Prognosis factors influencing survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Significant prognostic factors for overall survival were: incomplete cytoreduction (HR = 4.02; 95%CI = 2.68-6.18), FIGO stages III and IV (HR = 3.21; 95%CI = 1.83-5.61), tumor persistence after any treatment (HR = 2.90; 95%CI = 1.97-4.27), presence of extrauterine disease (HR = 2.62; 95%CI = 1.75-3.92), a positive resection margin (HR = 1.56; 95%CI = 1.05-2.34), age (HR = 1.02; 95%CI = 1.00-1.05), and tumor size (HR = 1.01; 95%CI = 1.00-1.01). Significant prognostic factors for disease-free survival were: incomplete cytoreduction (HR = 3.00; 95%CI = 1.67-5.37), tumor persistence after any treatment (HR = 2.64; 95%CI = 1.81-3.86), FIGO stages III and IV (HR = 2.33; 95%CI = 1.59-3.41), presence of extrauterine disease (HR = 2.13; 95%CI = 1.44-3.17), administration of adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 1.84; 95%CI = 1.27-2.67), a positive resection margin (HR = 1.65; 95%CI = 1.11-2.44), presence of LVSI (HR = 1.61; 95%CI = 1.02-2.55), and tumor size (HR = 1.00; 95%CI = 1.00-1.01). CONCLUSIONS: Incomplete cytoreduction, presence of tumor residual after treatment, advanced FIGO stage, extrauterine disease, and tumor size are significant prognostic factors decreasing disease-free survival and overall survival of patients with uterine carcinosarcoma.

Subspecialty training in Europe: a report by the European Network of Young Gynaecological Oncologists.

BACKGROUND: ESGO (European Society of Gynaecological Oncology) and partners are continually improving the developmental opportunities for gynaecological oncology fellows. The objectives of this survey were to evaluate the progress in the infrastructure of the training systems in Europe over the past decade. We also evaluated training and assessment techniques, the perceived relevance of ENYGO (European Network of Young Gynaecological Oncologists) initiatives, and unmet needs of trainees. METHODOLOGY: National representatives of ENYGO from 39 countries were contacted with an electronic survey. A graduation in well/moderately/loosely-structured training systems was performed. Descriptive statistical analysis and frequency tables, as well as two-sided Fisher's exact test, were used. RESULTS: National representatives from 33 countries answered our survey questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 85%. A national fellowship is offered in 22 countries (66.7%). A logbook to document progress during training is mandatory in 24 (72.7%) countries. A logbook of experience is only utilized in a minority of nations (18%) for assessment purposes. In 42.4% of countries, objective assessments are recognized. Trainees in most countries (22 (66.7%)) requested additional training in advanced laparoscopic surgery. 13 (39.4%) countries have a loosely-structured training system, 11 (33.3%) a moderately-structured training system, and 9 (27.3%) a well-structured training system. CONCLUSION: Since the last publication in 2011, ENYGO was able to implement new activities, workshops, and online education to support training of gynaecological oncology fellows, which were all rated by the respondents as highly useful. This survey also reveals the limitations in establishing more accredited centers, centralized cancer care, and the lack of laparoscopic training.

Prognostic factors in patients with vulvar cancer: the VULCAN study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the prognostic factors for overall and progression-free survival in patients with vulvar cancer. METHODS: This international, multicenter, retrospective study included 2453 patients diagnosed with vulvar cancer at 100 different institutions. Inclusion criteria were institutional review board approval from each collaborating center, pathologic diagnosis of invasive carcinoma of the vulva, and primary treatment performed at the participating center. Patients with intraepithelial neoplasia or primary treatment at non-participating centers were excluded. Global survival analysis and squamous cell histology subanalysis was performed. RESULTS: After excluding patients due to incomplete data entry, 1727 patients treated for vulvar cancer between January 2001 and December 2005 were registered for analysis (1535 squamous, 42 melanomas, 38 Paget's disease and 112 other histologic types). Melanomas had the worse prognosis (p=0.02). In squamous vulvar tumors, independent factors for increase in local recurrence of vulvar cancer were: no prior radiotherapy (p<0.001) or chemotherapy (p=0.006), and for distant recurrence were the number of positive inguinal nodes (p=0.025), and not having undergone lymphadenectomy (p=0.03) or radiotherapy (p<0.001), with a HR of 1.1 (95% CI 1.2 to 1.21), 2.9 (95% CI 1.4 to 6.1), and 3.1 (95% CI 1.7 to 5.7), respectively. Number of positive nodes (p=0.008), FIGO stage (p<0.001), adjuvant chemotherapy (p=0.001), tumor resection margins (p=0.045), and stromal invasion >5 mm (p=0.001) were correlated with poor overall survival, and large case volume (≥9 vs <9 cases per year) correlated with more favorable overall survival (p=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Advanced patient age, number of positive inguinal lymph nodes, and lack of adjuvant treatment are significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse in patients with squamous cell vulvar cancer. Case volume per treating institution, FIGO stage, and stromal invasion appear to impact overall survival significantly. Future prospective trials are warranted to establish these prognostic factors for vulvar cancer.

Prognostic value of lymph node ratio and number of positive inguinal nodes in patients with vulvar cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prognostic significance of lymph node ratio and number of positive nodes in vulvar cancer patients. METHODS: This international multicenter retrospective study included patients diagnosed with vulvar cancer treated with inguinal lymphadenectomy. Lymph node ratio (LNR) is the ratio of the number of positive lymph nodes (LN) to the number of removed LN. Patients were stratified into risk groups according to LNR. LNR was correlated with clinical-pathological parameters. Survival analyses were performed. RESULTS: This analysis included 745 patients. In total, 292 (39.2%) patients had positive inguinal LN. The mean (SD) number of resected and positive LN was 14.1 (7.6) and 3.0 (2.9), respectively. High LNR was associated with larger tumor size and higher tumor grade. Patients with LNRs 0% (N0), >0<20%, and >20% had 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of 90.9%, 70.7%, and 61.8%, respectively (P<0.001). LNR was associated with both local and distant recurrence-free survival (P<0.001). Patients with 0, 1, 2, 3 or >3 positive lymph nodes had 5-year OS rates of 90.9%, 70.8%, 67.8%, 70.8% and 63.4% respectively (P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, LNR (P=0.01) and FIGO stage (P<0.001), were associated with OS, whereas the number of positive nodes (P=0.8), age (P=0.2), and tumor grade (P=0.7), were not. In high-risk patients, adjuvant radiotherapy was associated with improved survival. CONCLUSIONS: LNR provides useful prognostic information in vulvar cancer patients with inguinal LN resection in vulvar cancer. LNR allows for more accurate prognostic stratification of patients than number of positive nodes. LNR seems useful to select appropriate candidates for adjuvant radiation.

Utility of human epididymis protein 4 serum marker for the detection of adnexal malignancy: a multicentric prospective study.

The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of the human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) serum biomarker in predicting malignant disease in a clinical setting in comparison with other diagnostic tools, such as serum CA125 and ROMA score. A multicentric prospective observational study was carried out between January 2010 and December 2011 in four European centres (Italy, Portugal, Latvia and Spain). Data from 981 healthy controls and patients diagnosed with adnexal pathology were collected. Data on the ROMA index, CA124 and HE4 tumour markers were analysed. The receiver-operator characteristics curve and the area under the curve were analysed to discriminate between malignant and nonmalignant disease. Predictive values were also calculated. In total, 642 (65.4%) patients presented with a pelvic mass, with 324 (33%) of them being diagnosed with malignant disease. Sensitivity for HE4 was 64.1%; specificity was 95.7%; and positive predictive value was 88.1%, with a 4.3% false-positive rate. On comparing malignant disease versus nonmalignant/healthy patients, there was a significant difference (P<0.001) in the area under the curve. The receiver-operator characteristic for CA125 was 0.79 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76-0.83], for HE4 was 0.89 (95% CI: 0.87-0.91) and for ROMA was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.68-0.75). The HE4 serum marker showed similar sensitivity, but better specificity, than CA125 and can improve the detection of malignant pathology in women diagnosed with adnexal pathology.

Utility Serum Marker HE4 for the Differential Diagnosis Between Endometriosis and Adnexal Malignancy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the utility of serum human epididymal secretory protein E4 (HE4) biomarker in the differential diagnosis of endometriosis and adnexal malignancies. METHODS: Multicentric prospective observational study between January 2010 and December 2011 in 4 European centers (Italy, Portugal, Latvia, and Spain) was carried out. We collected 981 healthy patients diagnosed with adnexal patology and selected 65 patients diagnosed with endometriosis and analyzed their serum markers CA125, HE4, and Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) index. We also analyzed all cases of malignant histology and divided them according to CA125 levels (negative, ≤35 U/mL; intermediate, >35-150 U/mL; and highly positive, >150 U/mL). RESULTS: HE4 was positive only in 1.5% of cases, CA125 in 64.6%, and ROMA index in 14.1%. In the subgroup intermediate CA125 values, positive HE4 is very specific (91.2%) correctly classifying patients with benign disease, but with lower sensibility (66.1%); however, ROMA index showed a high sensibility (89.3%), with a false-positive rate of 42.8%. CONCLUSIONS: HE4 can be a very useful biomarker to exclude malignant disease in patients with endometriosis.

Midline involvement as a risk factor for vulvar cancer recurrence.

OBJECTIVE: This observational study was to identify risk factors for vulvar cancer recurrence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the study 107 patients with primary vulvar cancer were analyzed. Surgical treatment consisted of radical excision of the primary tumor in combination with unilateral or bilateral superficial and deep inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy through separate incisions. Patients with deeper tumor invasion >1 mm or wider than 2 cm and/or groin lymphnode metastases were referred for adjuvant radiotherapy. Those with large primary vulvar tumors received neoadjuvant radiotherapy of 30 Gy followed by surgical treatment and adjuvant radiotherapy. RESULTS: Most of patients had only primary radiotherapy to the vulva and inguinal lymph nodes and only 34.5% of patients were eligible for surgical treatment. In 5 year follow-up period 25.2% (27) patients were alive without the disease, 15.0% (16) were alive with the disease and 59.8% (64) were dead. 60.7% (65) patients experienced local recurrence and 2.8% (3) patients had distant metastases. Median survival for patients without recurrent disease was 38.9 ± 3.2 months and 36.0 ± 2.6 months with no statistically significant difference. Patients with early stage vulvar cancer had longer mean survival rates-for stage I 53.1 ± 3.4 months, 38.4 ± 4.4 months for stage II and 33.4 ± 2.6 and 15.6 ± 5.2 months for patients with stage III and stage IV vulvar cancer, respectively. The only significant prognostic factor predicting vulvar cancer recurrence was involvement of the midline. CONCLUSIONS: Patients having midline involvement of vulvar cancer has lower recurrence risk, probably because of receiving more aggressive treatment. There is a tendency for lower vulvar cancer recurrence risk for patients over 70 years of age and patients who are receiving radiotherapy as an only treatment without surgery, but tendency for higher risk of recurrence in patients with multifocal vulvar cancer.

Urinary concentrations of human epidydimis secretory protein 4 (He4) in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer: a case--control study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze differential diagnostic accuracy of urinary human epidydimis secretory protein 4 (HE4) in patients with ovarian tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the case-control study 23 patients with ovarian cancer, 37 patients with benign ovarian tumors and 18 women in the control group were included. Serum CA125 values and urinary concentrations of HE4were assessed quantitatively. Urinary creatinine concentrations and glomerular filtration rate were also determined and used to calculate ratios to HE4. RESULTS: Higher urinary HE4 concentrations were observed in patients with late stage ovarian cancer (p=0.001) and also in patients with early stage ovarian cancer when compared to patients with benign ovarian tumors (p=0.044). On analysis where all ovarian cancer patients were included, higher diagnostic accuracy was observed with calculated ratio of HE4 to glomerular filtration rate (GFR) to unchanged urinary HE4 concentrations -AUC 0.861 vs. 0.858. When discriminatory accuracy was calculated for urinary HE4/GFR ratio and unchanged urinary HE4 concentrations, the last demonstrated a higher area under the curve - 0.701 vs. 0.602. The urinary HE4/creatinine ratio had lower discriminatory characteristics than unchanged concentrations of urinary HE4. However, HE4 serum concentration was more accurate for discrimination of patients with benign and malignant ovarian tumors when compared to urinary HE4 and CA125 in sera (AUCs were 0.868 for serum HE4 and 0.856 and 0.653 for urinary HE4 and CA125, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Ovarian cancer patients have higher urinary concentrations of human epidydimis secretory protein 4 than patients with benign ovarian tumors. Urinary HE4 has comparable discriminatory accuracy with serum HE4 for benign and malignant ovarian tumors and can be recommended as a non-invasive ovarian cancer risk assessment method.

An ovarian cancer malignancy risk index composed of HE4, CA125, ultrasonographic score, and menopausal status: use in differentiation of ovarian cancers and benign lesions.

A case-control study included 83 ovarian cancer patients, 76 patients with benign ovarian tumors, and 79 healthy control subjects in the control group. Objective of the study is to analyze biomarker concentrations included in the two novel ovarian tumor differential diagnostic tests (risk of ovarian malignancy algorithm and OVA1) approved by food and drug administration in patients with ovarian tumors and to establish a new ovarian cancer risk assessment algorithm in conjunction with ultrasound score and menopausal status. Ovarian cancer diagnostic tests, developed in the training setting, were evaluated in the independent validation settings of Asian Pacific ovarian cancer biomarker research group study population and Denmark Pelvic Mass project population. Results show that mean serum concentrations of cancer antigen 125 (CA125), human epididymis secretory protein 4 (HE4), and beta-2-microglobulin were upregulated, but apolipoprotein A1, transferrin, and transthyretin were downregulated among ovarian cancer patients. When only one biomarker was introduced in the logistic regression analysis, together with ultrasonographic score and menopausal status, HE4 (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.930; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.891-0.969) was more accurate than CA125 (AUC = 0.902; 95 % CI 0.855-0.949) in ovarian cancer diagnostic, but when both biomarkers were included in the logistic regression analyses, ovarian cancer diagnostic accuracy was increased (AUC = 0.939; 95 % CI 0.902-0.977). In conclusions, human epididymis secretory protein 4 and CA125 in combination with ultrasonographic features and menopausal status has high accuracy in ovarian tumor differentiation.

Gynecologic oncology training systems in Europe: a report from the European network of young gynaecological oncologists.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the study were to highlight some of the differences in training systems and opportunities for training in gynecologic oncology across Europe and to draw attention to steps that can be taken to improve training prospects and experiences of European trainees in gynecologic oncology. METHODS: The European Network of Young Gynaecological Oncologists national representatives from 34 countries were asked to review and summarize the training system in their countries of origin and fulfill a mini-questionnaire evaluating different aspects of training. We report analysis of outcomes of the mini-questionnaire and subsequent discussion at the European Network of Young Gynaecological Oncologists national representatives Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention meeting in Istanbul (April 2010). RESULTS: Training fellowships in gynecologic oncology are offered by 18 countries (53%). The median duration of training is 2.5 years (interquartile range, 2.0-3.0 years). Chemotherapy administration is part of training in 70.5% (24/34) countries. Most of the countries (26/34) do not have a dedicated national gynecologic-oncology journal. All trainees reported some or good access to training in advanced laparoscopic surgical techniques, whereas 41% indicated no access, and 59% some access to training opportunities in robotic surgery. European countries were grouped into 3 different categories on the basis of available training opportunities in gynecologic oncology: well-structured, moderately structured, and loosely structured training systems. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for further harmonization and standardization of training programs and structures in gynecologic oncology across Europe. This is of particular relevance for loosely structured countries that lag behind the moderately structured and well-structured ones.

Malignant intraperitoneal mesothelioma-Baskent University experience.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate diagnostic and treatment results of malignant intraperitoneal mesothelioma in one setting. MATERIALS AND METHOD: 12 patients treated for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma from January 2007 to June 2009 in Baskent University Ankara Hospital, Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics were evaluated. In a retrospective observational study design tumour stage, grade, differentiation, time from first symptoms, pleural involvement, peritoneal cancer index, surgical cytoreduction, chemotherapeutic regimen, number of cycles, disease free survival and overall survival were evaluated. Disease free survival, overall survival, time until first symptoms were researched. RESULTS: The main presenting symptom was abdominal distension. Primary cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy was performed in 9 patients. In 6 patients completeness of cytoreductive score below 2 was achieved. As a first line chemotherapy the most often used was cisplatin in combination with pemetrexed. Themean time from first symptoms until the diagnosis was 1.9 months. Disease free survival of 4.4±1.0 months after completing particular treatment and overall 1-year survival of 85.7 % was observed. No correlations between first symptoms (0.27, p=0.52), time until the diagnosis (-0.29, p=0.44) and overall survival were observed. Similarly, correlations between peritoneal cancer index (0.25, p=0.67), prior surgical score (-.45, p=0.37), completeness of cytoreduction score (0.61, p=0.27) and overall survival were not observed. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low number of patients and different treatment approaches data from a particular patient setting are inconclusive, but from the literature there is evidence that patients with malignant intraperitoneal mesothelioma should undergo optimal cytoreduction and receive a combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed as a first line chemotherapy for intravenous or cisplatin in different chemotherapy regimens using the intraperitoneal administration route, if accessible, with even higher overall survival rates.