Opioid Use in Patients With Cervical Cancer at a Tertiary Academic Medical Center.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Opioids are a common treatment for cancer-related pain and information is limited on the rates of opioid use for cervical cancer patients. This study aimed to analyze outpatient opioid use and various predictors among patients with cervical cancer at a tertiary academic medical center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from patients with cervical cancer receiving treatment at a single institution, from August 2019 to July 2022, were retrospectively collected. Women with unrelated chronic opioid use or opioid use associated with acute inpatient stays were excluded. Charts were reviewed for patient demographics, disease characteristics, treatment characteristics, disease outcomes, and opioid prescriptions. The primary endpoint was duration of opioid use ≥6 months. Pearson's chi-squared testing, Welch's two-sample t-testing and Fisher's exact testing were used to determine predictors of opioid use ≥6 months. RESULTS: In total, 108 patients with cervical cancer (76.1%) of the 142 that received treatment were prescribed opioids. In women who were prescribed outpatient opioids, the median duration of opioid use was 69 days (interquartile range=5-359 days). In total, 40 (37.0%) had prescriptions for ≥180 days and 27 (25.0%) had prescriptions ≥365 days. On bivariate analysis, lower stage and receipt of surgery were associated with opioid use duration <6 months. Age, race, histology, substance/tobacco/alcohol use, depression/anxiety, and the receipt of brachytherapy/radiation were not associated with length of opioid prescriptions. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that 37% of patients with cervical cancer were using opioids for cancer-related pain longer than 6 months. Higher stage was associated with opioid use duration ≥6 months.

HPV-associated Vulvar Intraepithelial Carcinoma With Sebaceous Differentiation: Report of 2 Cases.

Sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is a malignant neoplasm demonstrating sebocytic differentiation, commonly in the periocular area. Sebocytic differentiation is recognized by multivesicular cytoplasmic clearing with frequent nuclear scalloping. The vesicles can be highlighted by immunohistochemical stains against the perilipin family proteins including adipophilin. Extraocular SC is uncommon but well reported, often in the setting of Muir-Torre syndrome; however, vulvar SC is exceptionally rare. The literature review yielded only 12 prior cases of vulvar SC, all of which showed invasion. Here we report 2 additional similar cases from 2 different institutions of an intraepithelial carcinoma with sebaceous differentiation. Histologic examination of multiple specimens from both patients showed similar features: a multifocal intraepithelial basaloid nodular neoplasm sparing the basal layer with occasional pagetoid spread. The tumor cells demonstrated a high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio, mitoses, variably foamy vacuolated cytoplasm, and nuclear indentation. Multiple specimens from both patients showed evidence of sebaceous differentiation (substantiated by adipophilin positivity in a membranous vesicular pattern in case 1 and by androgen receptor and epithelial membrane antigen positivity in case 2), and squamous differentiation (substantiated by p63/p40 and weak CK 5/6 expression), as well as human papillomavirus (HPV) association (substantiated by p16 block positivity and detection of high-risk HPV by in situ hybridization). One case was a true in situ lesion without evidence of invasion, and the other case was predominantly an in situ carcinoma with prominent adnexal extension and focal superficial invasion of <1 mm seen in one of multiple specimens. To our knowledge, these 2 cases are the first to show a vulvar SC/carcinoma with sebaceous differentiation that is predominantly limited to the epidermis, and the first documentation of HPV infection in vulvar sebaceous neoplasms. Vulvar intraepithelial carcinoma with sebaceous differentiation is the umbrella term we chose for this entity. Whether this is a true SC in situ that is HPV positive/driven, or a vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia with sebaceous differentiation, is not entirely clear. We emphasize the importance of looking for this morphology to avoid misclassification. Due to the rarity of cases, optimal treatment at this site has not been established.

Use of pembrolizumab in MSI-high uterine leiomyosarcoma; a case report and review of the literature.

•Overall prognosis of uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS) is poor with a low 5-year survival rate.•Microsatellite instability (MSI)-high ULMS is not well documented in current literature.•Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab have been shown to have good efficacy in treating MSI-high solid tumors.•Targeting MSI-high ULMS with pembrolizumab can potentially maintain a patient's quality of life and extend overall survival.

Confidence and readiness to discuss, plan and implement postpartum contraception during prenatal care versus after delivery.

No studies exist to determine the optimal timing to counsel women regarding postpartum contraception which means opportunities for immediate postpartum contraception are often missed. Women between the gestational ages of 250/7 and 356/7 weeks, meeting inclusion criteria and attending an outpatient clinic were offered to participate in the study. Subjects completed surveys querying readiness, capability and confidence in discussing and committing to a postpartum contraceptive plan. Two hundred and forty-three patients were enrolled in the study. Sixty-three percent of patients responded they considered that the best time for contraception discussion was the second or third trimester. More women reported a contraception plan was important or very important postpartum than prenatally (78% vs. 56%; p<.0001). More women reported feeling ready or very ready to discuss (82% vs. 66%; p<.0001), and ready or very ready to choose (84% vs. 64%; p<.007), capable or highly capable of choosing (90% vs. 79%; p=.0009) postpartum than prenatally. Postpartum, more women felt confident or very confident (98% vs. 90%; p=.0006) in their ability to use effective contraception after delivery. Women reported higher levels of readiness and capability to choose and discuss contraception postpartum than prenatally. Most women felt ready and capable to choose a contraceptive option prior to postpartum discharge. IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known on this subject? Short interpregnancy interval is associated with increased maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Effective postpartum contraception can be decided upon and administered, thereby increasing the interval between subsequent pregnancies. What do the results of this study add? The results of this study demonstrate that women report high levels of readiness and capability to choose and discuss contraception before postpartum discharge. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? These findings imply that further research is needed to determine how to use motivational interviewing to encourage pregnant women to make a postpartum contraception decision prior to the postpartum period to facilitate uptake of their contraceptive choice.

Production of uniformly sized serum albumin and dextrose microbubbles.

Uniformly-sized preparations with average microbubble (MB) diameters from 1 to 7 µm were produced reliably by sonicating decafluorobutane-saturated solutions of serum albumin and dextrose. Detailed protocols for producing and size-separating the MBs are presented, along with the effects that changing each production parameter (serum albumin concentration, sonication power, sonication time, etc.) had on MB size distribution and acoustic stability. These protocols can be used to produce MBs for experimental applications or serve as templates for developing new protocols that yield MBs with physical and acoustic properties better suited to specific applications. Size stability and ultrasonic performance quality control tests were developed to assure that successive MB preparations perform identically and to distinguish the physical and acoustic properties of identically sized MBs produced with different serum albumin-dextrose formulations and sonication parameters. MBs can be stored at 5 °C for protracted periods (2 weeks to one year depending on formulation).