Sexual dysfunction in Thai women with early-stage cervical cancer after radical hysterectomy.

We determined the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with early-stage cervical cancer who had undergone radical hysterectomy in three institutions of Thailand. An interview was conducted according to the structured questionnaire composing of seven domains of sexual function: frequency, desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and dyspareunia. From 105 women included in the study, mean age was 45.3 +/- 7.8 years. Seventy-five (71.4%) were in premenopausal period. Eight out of 105 women (7.6%) never resumed their sexual intercourse after radical hysterectomy, 97 women resumed their sexual intercourse during 1-36 months postoperation (median, 4 months). Dyspareunia was increased in approximately 37% of women, while the other six domains of sexual function were decreased, ranging from approximately 40-60%. Of interest, only 10.5% of these cervical cancer women had some information of sexual function from medical or paramedical personnel, 17.1% obtained it from other laymen or public media, and 61.9% had never had it from any resources. Our conclusion is-sexual dysfunction is a common problem after cervical cancer treatment, but it has not been well aware of. These findings may necessitate health care providers to be more considerate on this problem.

Lymph node size in uterine cancer: A revisit.

To study whether lymph node size is a good predictor of lymph node metastasis in uterine cancer, we reviewed the pathologic sections of pelvic and para-aortic lymph node removed from uterine cancer patients who underwent surgical staging in our institution from January 1994 to December 2004. The long axis of each individual node was measured. Out of 4280 total nodes obtained (178 cases), 86 nodes (28 cases) were positive for metastatic cancer (2.0% of total nodes or 15.7% of cases). Among the positive nodes, 11 nodes (12.8%) had nodal long axis <5 mm, 34 nodes (39.5%) had long axis of 5-9 mm, and 32 (37.2%) and 9 nodes (10.5%) had long axes of 10-19 mm and >20 mm, respectively. More than half (52.3%) of these positive nodal long axes were less than 10 mm. At lymph node size of 10 mm that was the common point of reference for pathologic enlargement, the sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value of lymph node to predict metastatic cancer were 47.7%, 76.7%, 98.6%, and 4.0%, respectively. From these findings, we tended to conclude that lymph node size is not a good predictor of lymph node metastasis in uterine cancer.

Survival rate of recurrent cervical cancer patients.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the survival rate of recurrent cervical cancer patients and factors influencing survival. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The subjects were identified from the Gynecologic Oncology Unit tumor registry record The pathological, clinical data including the follow-up information of recurrent cervical cancer patients who were treated in the Gynecologic Oncology Unit, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Medical College and Vajira Hospital between 1992 and 2003 were retrospective reviewed. RESULTS: During the study period, 144 recurrent cervical cancer patients were identified. Mean age of the patients was 52 years. The median time from complete primary treatment to disease recurrence was 14.8 months. Seventy-two patients (50%) had previous stage III disease. The most common histopalogy was squamous cell carcinoma (72.9%). Approximately half of the recurrences were local (73 patients or 50.7%) and distal recurrences were encountered in 71 patients or 49.3%. Overall 109 patients received treatmentfor their recurrences, i.e. radiation alone (55 patients, 38.2%), chemotherapy (31 patients, 21.5%), chemotherapy and radiation (18 patients, 12.5%), surgery (5 patients, 3.5%), and 35 patients (24.3%) received only supportive treatment. Two-year survival rate of the group was 18.5%. Median survival was 8 months (95%CI, 7-10 months). The patients with only local recurrence had a 2-year survival rate of 22.2% compared to 14.6% in those with distant recurrence. (p = 0.245). Two-year survival rate of those who received any kind of treatment was 22.4% compared to 4.0% in those who received only supportive treatment (p = 0.014 and 0.017 in univariable and multivariable analysis respectively). CONCLUSION: Survival rate of recurrent cervical cancer was low, especially in those who received only supportive treatment.

The growing teratoma syndrome: a case report and a review of the literature.

We present the case of a 5-year-old girl with ovarian immature teratoma, which recurred a few months after an incomplete surgical staging. The recurrent masses, located in the upper abdomen and lower pelvis, were accompanied by rise in levels of serum alpha-fetoprotein. The patient and her parents refused surgical resection of these recurrent masses; therefore, chemotherapy was promptly given. After multiple cycles of chemotherapy, all the masses remained stable in size despite normalization of the tumor marker. Subsequent complete resection of the masses showed only mature teratoma (MT) component without any residual malignant germ cell tumor. The patient was disease free for 2 years, when another episode of recurrence developed as a 5-cm mass in the perihepatic area. The third laparotomy revealed a tumor mass, histologically composed of only MT tissue. She is now doing well without any evidence of the disease, 24 months after the last surgery.

Antiemetic effect of ginger in gynecologic oncology patients receiving cisplatin.

To determine whether ginger had antiemetic effect in cisplatin-induced emesis, we conducted a randomized, double-blinded crossover study in 48 gynecologic cancer patients receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Subjects were randomly allocated to regimen A or regimen B in their first cycle of the study. All patients received standard antiemetics in the first day of cisplatin administration. In regimen A, capsules of ginger root powder were given orally 1 g /day for 5 days, starting on the first day of chemotherapy. In regimen B, placebo was given on the first day and metoclopramide was given orally thereafter for 4 days. The patients were then crossed over to receive the other antiemetic regimen in their next cycle of chemotherapy. Among 43 evaluable patients who received both cycles of treatment, success in controls of nausea and emesis were not significantly different between the two regimens in both acute and delayed phases. Restlessness, as a side effect, occurred more often in metoclopramide arm compared to ginger arm (P=0.109). In conclusion, addition of ginger to standard antiemetic regimen has no advantage in reducing nausea or vomiting in acute phase of cisplatin-induced emesis. In delayed phase, ginger and metoclopramide have no statistically significant difference in efficacy.

Squamous cell carcinoma arising from dermoid cyst: Case reports and review of literature.

Malignant transformation of a dermoid cyst is rare, with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) being the most common type. During a 10-year period in our institution, we encountered only four cases of SCC out of 425 cases of dermoid cyst, an incidence of 0.94%. Two were of old age, in menopausal status (63 and 74 y), while the other two were in their early forties. Three cases presented with pelvic masses while the other one had nonspecific wasting symptoms and later diarrhea. Three were in early stage and have survived to date without evidence of disease at 8, 12, and 116 months after diagnosis. The other case, in stage III, had suboptimal surgery and responded partially to chemotherapy, subsequently progressed after cessation of the drug, and finally died within a year after diagnosis.

Can we rely on the size of the lymph node in determining nodal metastasis in ovarian carcinoma?

This study endeavored to determine whether lymph node size is a reliable indicator in determining lymph node metastasis in common epithelial ovarian cancer. We reviewed pathologic sections of pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes removed from 104 ovarian carcinoma patients who underwent either primary surgical staging or secondary surgery from January 1994 to July 2001. All sections of each individual node were measured in two dimensions. The different sizes of nodes were studied statistically to determine the optimal sensitivity and specificity in predicting cancer metastasis. A nodal size of 10 mm was a specific point of interest. Of 2069 total nodes obtained, 110 nodes (5.3%) had metastatic cancer. More than half (55.4%) of these positive nodes had a nodal long axis of 10 mm and less. The sensitivity and specificity of nodal size at 10 mm were 44.5% and 81.1%, respectively. We conclude that lymph node size is not a good indicator in determining epithelial ovarian cancer metastasis. Mere sampling of only the enlarged nodes does not reflect the true positive incidence of nodal metastasis. To avoid inaccurate staging and improper management, complete lymph node dissection is proposed as part of surgical staging for ovarian cancer.

Retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma: a case report and review of literature.

This is a case report of retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma which was operated on for a preoperative diagnosis of ovarian tumor. The tumor had no connection to other intra-abdominal organs including bilateral normal ovaries. Grossly, it was a well encapsulated, unilocular cyst containing mucous material. Histology revealed a typical area of benign, low malignant potential and malignant mucinous epithelium. No particular microscopic features suggested the origin of the tumor. We additionally performed total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingooophorectomy, and appendectomy after tumor resection and found no tumor elsewhere from these specimens. Prophylactic chemotherapy was also given. The patient was doing well 18 months postoperation. Due to its rarity, the prognosis and optimal treatment cannot be concluded with confidence at this time until more cases are reported.