Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation for patients with high-risk stage I endometrial cancer treated with curative intent surgery: impact on recurrence and survival.

BACKGROUND: Survival benefits of post-operative systemic and radiation therapy in high-risk stage I endometrial cancer are uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To compare recurrence patterns and survival outcomes of post-surgical treatment in patients with high-risk stage I endometrial cancer and to determine whether adjuvant therapy significantly improves outcomes. METHODS: High-risk stage I endometrial cancer was defined as either stage IB grade 3 endometrioid histology or myoinvasive non-endometrioid histology. Consecutive patients diagnosed between January 2000 and December 2010 in eight cancer centers were included. Patients, disease, and treatment characteristics were summarized by descriptive statistics. Overall survival, disease-specific survival, and relapse-free survival were examined using Cox's proportional hazards regression and log-rank test. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Of 2317 patients with stage I endometrial cancer, 414 patients had high-risk disease. Use of chemotherapy did not improve overall survival (relative risk (RR) 0.70, 95% CI 0.46 to 1.14, p=0.13) or disease-specific survival (RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.61 to 1.85, p=0.84). Significant improvement in recurrence-free survival was observed in patients who received chemotherapy (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.95, p=0.03). Use of radiation therapy did not improve overall survival, recurrence-free survival, or disease-specific survival. Patients who received four cycles or fewer of chemotherapy versus five to six cycles had similar overall survival, disease-specific survival, and recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: Post-operative chemotherapy or radiation in stage I high-risk endometrial cancer is not associated with improved cancer-specific or overall survival. More than four cycles of chemotherapy did not improve survival compared with four cycles or fewer.

Impact of transversus abdominis plane blocks versus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory on post-operative opioid use in ERAS ovarian cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of ovarian cancer often requires extensive surgical resection. The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has been utilized in benign gynecologic surgery to decrease post-operative pain and opioid use. We hypothesized that TAP blocks would decrease total opioid use in the first 24 hours and decrease length of stay following staging and cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer compared with either no local anesthetic or local wound infiltration alone. METHODS: All patients undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer from November 2016 to June 2017 were included in this retrospective cohort study. Median opioid use at 24, 48, and 72 hours post-operatively, as well as length of stay, were assessed. Multivariate median regression analysis was performed to adjust for potential confounders: post-operative non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) usage, pre-operative opioid consumption, and extent of cytoreductive surgery. Length of stay was compared using Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: One-hundred-and-twenty patients were included in the analysis. Eighty-two patients had a TAP block, while 38 did not. After adjusting for potential confounders there was no difference in median 24 hours opioid consumption (p=0.29) or length of stay (HR 0.95, p=0.78) between patients receiving TAP block compared with those without. After adjusting for potential confounders, patients receiving scheduled NSAIDs had a 2.6-fold greater likelihood of being discharged (p<0.0005) and a significant reduction in median opioid use at 24 hours (23.5 vs 14.5 mg) (p=0.017) compared with those patients without NSAIDs. DISCUSSION: Post-operative administration of NSAIDs, but not TAP block, was associated with a decrease in post-operative opioid use and length of stay following surgery for ovarian cancer. Further investigation into alternative regional anesthetics for Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols is warranted.

A case series of aggressive angiomyxoma: Using morphologic type and hormonal modification to tailor treatment.

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare tumour type with a predilection for the female pelvis, high rates of estrogen and progesterone receptor positivity and local recurrence. A retrospective chart review of patients with aggressive angiomyxoma treated at 2 cancer centres is presented. Nine patients were identified with a mean age of 41. Five patients had deeply invasive tumours that were difficult to surgically resect. Four patients had pedunculated tumours with less complex resections. In only two cases was aggressive angiomyxoma considered before resection: one due to classic magnetic resonance imaging findings and one with a preoperative biopsy. Four patients had positive margins after resection, with only one having persistent disease. Two patients were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists resulting in tumour regression in one and no recurrence in the other. In this case series, aggressive angiomyxoma presented in deeply invasive and pedunculated forms. Previously reported high rates of recurrence were not observed in this group, perhaps secondary to easier resection in the pedunculated forms. GnRH agonists were successfully used as adjuncts to surgery. Evidence in this case series could be used to provide tailored treatment to patients with aggressive angiomyxoma.

Cytology positive pericardial effusion causing tamponade in patients with high grade serous carcinoma of the ovary.

•Three patients with cytology positive pericardial effusions from high grade serous carcinoma.•Patients' conditions amenable to treatment with chemotherapy after effusion symptom improvement.•Patient with pericardial effusion from high grade serous ovarian cancer post a poly ADP ribose polymerase inhibitor.