Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in endometrial carcinoma; preoperative estimation of depth of myometrial invasion.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of pelvic and aortic lymph node involvement in endometrial carcinoma depends on both tumor differentiation grade and myometrial invasion depth. It was evaluated whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a preoperative technique to assess the depth of myometrial invasion. METHODS: The study includes 34 patients with an endometrial carcinoma. MRI (T5 Gyroscan, Philips) was made a few days before operation. Myometrial invasion was divided in four categories. Cervical invasion was classified as absent, superficial or deep. For comparison an in vitro MRI of the uterus was made directly after the operation. Histo-pathological examination of the uterus was used as a golden standard of the depth of myometrial invasion. RESULTS: The estimation by MRI of the myometrial invasion depth was correct in 25 out of 31 patients. In three patients estimation was not possible, because of bad image quality. In four patients the MRI underestimated the cervical invasion. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative MRI in patients with an endometrial carcinoma can be used to estimate myometrial and cervical invasion. Therefore, in combination with the histological grading of the tumor, a preoperative MRI can be used to select patients at high risk of nodal involvement.

Chlamydia trachomatis-specific antibodies in patients with pelvic inflammatory disease: comparison with isolation in tissue culture or detection with polymerase chain reaction.

OBJECTIVE: The detection of acute phase antibodies against C trachomatis and its comparison with tissue culture or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on samples of cervix and urethra obtained from patients with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). METHODS: In the academic hospital Dijkzigt, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, prospective investigations were performed on 49 consecutive patients who were admitted with the diagnosis of PID. Infections with C trachomatis were traced using tissue culture, PCR or by determining acute phase IgG and IgM antibodies. Differences between the sensitivities of serology and tissue culture or PCR were calculated using the Fisher exact test. RESULTS: C trachomatis infection was detected more often in PID patients using serology in comparison with PCR (p < 0.05) or tissue culture (p < 0.05). All patients who were positive in tissue culture also had acute phase antibodies. CONCLUSION: The establishing of acute C trachomatis infections in PID patients on the basis of serology was superior to either tissue culture or PCR on samples obtained from cervix and urethra.

Vulvar pseudolymphoma.

We report a 31-year-old patient with longstanding complaints of vulvar itching and painful intercourse treated with many antimycotic drugs. On examination a small tumor, clinically not differentiable from a malignant lymphoma, on and near the clitoris was found. After excision biopsy the lesion proved to be a pseudolymphoma. Six months after excision of this rare vulvar tumor the patient was completely free of complaints. Although pseudolymphomas are small benign tumors they may case diagnostic problems and major complaints. To our knowledge this very rare disorder has not been reported in the gynecological literature until now.

A case of hidradenitis suppurativa treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and by total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

We report on a patient with hidradenitis suppurativa with premenstrual exacerbations, who was treated successfully with total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy combined with estrogen substitution. As a trial, she was initially treated successfully with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and subsequently a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist in combination with estrogen substitution.