Mesonephric adenocarcinoma of the vagina : Diagnosis and multimodal treatment of a rare tumor and analysis of worldwide experience.

BACKGROUND: Mesonephric adenocarcinoma of the vagina is an extremely rare tumor of the female genital tract, with only a few cases reported so far worldwide. Consequently, there is no established standard treatment and limited knowledge about the prognosis and biologic behavior of vaginal mesonephric adenocarcinoma. METHODS: This report documents a new case of vaginal mesonephric adenocarcinoma diagnosed in a 54-year-old woman, and analyzes this in the context of all previously published cases. RESULTS: MRI demonstrated that the 2.5 × 1.8 cm tumor of the vaginal wall was invading urethra and bladder. Following surgical excision, histologic analysis determined mesonephric adenocarcinoma of the vagina, stage pT2 R1. In order to avoid the mutilating extended surgery which would be required to reach R0 and considerable impairment of quality of life, adjuvant radiochemotherapy was administered with external radiation and brachytherapy, including 5 cycles of cisplatin (40 mg/m²) for radiosensitization. After 4 years of continuous oncologic follow-up, the patient is alive and clinically free of disease. CONCLUSION: In this case it was shown that adjuvant radiochemotherapy with radiation and brachytherapy was effective to manage the surgical R1 situation and maintain the patient's life quality. More published cases reports are needed to gradually substantiate optimal treatment strategies.

Breech delivery in the all fours position: a prospective observational comparative study with classic assistance.

OBJECTIVE: Vaginal delivery of fetal breech presentation is considered to be a challenge for obstetricians. The purpose of this study was to show that vaginal delivery in all fours position is feasible and safe for mother and child compared with vaginal breech and classic support. METHODS: A single-center prospective observational case series of breech delivery (n=41) in all fours position was compared to a retrospective cohort of breech deliveries in the form of a matched-pair analysis. RESULTS: Deliveries in the all fours position successfully took place without obstetric intervention in 70.7% of deliveries (n=29/41), and those including intervention in 90.2% (n=37/41). The rate of maternal perineal injuries was reduced (14.6% vs. 58.5%, P<0.001). Newborns delivered in all fours position had increased prenatal hypoxic stress with a pH of 7.19 [95% confidence interval (CI) 7.16-7.22] vs. a pH of 7.24 (95% CI 7.21-7.27; P=0.016). With n=24 vs. n=16, a higher number of newborns had a pH of <7.20 (P=0.03) and decreased base excess of -7.2 mmol/L (95% CI -8.2-6.2) vs. -4.8 mmol/L (95% CI -5.7-4.0; P<0.001). However, this had no clinical consequences for the newborns (5 min Apgar score <9: n=5 vs. n=4, not significant; transfer rate to neonatal intensive care unit n=7 vs. n=6, not significant). CONCLUSION: This is the first clinical evaluation of breech delivery in the all fours position. It is a feasible non-interventional obstetric delivery method. It seems to be safe for the fetus with reduced maternal morbidity. Vaginal delivery of fetal breech presentation, even in the all fours position, creates stress for the newborn.

Patient satisfaction with childbirth after external cephalic version.

PURPOSE: To assess acceptance and impact of external cephalic version (ECV) for breech presentation at term on maternal satisfaction with childbirth. METHODS: Retrospective study on n = 131 women with breech presentation comparing maternal satisfaction after ECV and consecutive childbirth (n = 66; 50.4% of these successful attempts in n = 33; 50%) against the group without ECV and primary caesarean section (CS) (n = 65; 49.6%) instead using a questionnaire. RESULTS: Women with successful ECV tolerated side effects of the intervention better than after unsuccessful ECV (pain, tocolytics, mental and physical state, for all p < 0.001). They were not more satisfied with childbirth than women who experienced an unsuccessful ECV (p = 0.37). However, they would undergo the procedure again (p = 0.003) and would recommend it to other women (p < 0.001). Only women with spontaneous vaginal deliveries after successful version were more satisfied with childbirth than women with planned CS (p = 0.05). Women with version attempts tend to perceive childbirth as being less problematic with fewer complications (9.5 vs. 19%, p = 0.12). Unsuccessful ECVs had no negative impact on satisfaction with childbirth (p = 0.072). CONCLUSION: Attempting ECV seems to be an option for increasing the rate of vaginal births with breech presentation without negative impact on maternal satisfaction regarding consecutive childbirth.

Groin metastasis after extensive microinvasive vulvar cancer. A case report.

BACKGROUND: An increasing incidence of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia and microinvasive vulvar cancer is being observed in younger patients. The treatment of choice is wide local excision. CASE: A 53-year-old woman had HPV-related disease for more than 20 years. Following several operations for cervical and vulvar intraepithelial lesions (CIN 3 and VIN 3) and genital warts, she presented with extensive, multifocal VIN 3 and microinvasion at the age of 50. Since a radical approach was not feasible, combined excision and laser therapy was performed, preceded by mapping of the abnormal areas of the vulva. Two years after surgery the patient presented with a mass in the right groin. Histopathologic examination following excision revealed a groin metastasis. Postoperative radiotherapy was performed. Three years after the last vulvar surgery and 1 year after groin excision, the patient was well and disease free. CONCLUSION: In high-risk patients with recurrent HPV-related disease of the lower genital tract and extensive microinvasive vulvar carcinoma, removal of the groin nodes should be considered. The sentinel node approach might be appropriate in the future.

Relevance of health economics in breast cancer treatment: integration of economics in the management of breast cancer at the clinic level.

Since the introduction of the diagnosis-related groups (DRG) system with cost-related and entity-specific flat-rate reimbursements for all in-patients in 2004 in Germany, economics have become an important focus in medical care, including breast centers. Since then, physicians and hospitals have had to gradually take on more and more financial responsibilities for their medical care to avoid losses for their institutions. Due to financial limitations of resources, most medical services have to be adjusted to correlating revenues, which results in the development of a variety of active measures to understand, steer, and optimize costs, resources and related processes for breast cancer treatment. In this review, the challenging task to implement microeconomic management at the clinic level for breast cancer treatment is analyzed from breast cancer-specific publications. The newly developed economic management perspective is identified for different stakeholders in the healthcare system, and successful microeconomic projects and future aspects are described.