High expression of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase predicts poor outcome in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

INTRODUCTION: High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is characterized by high mortality and prevalent recurrences. This study investigates the prognostic value of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) in HGSOC which has been linked to metabolic reprogramming and recurrences in other cancers. METHODS: Data from 306 patients with advanced-stage HGSOC treated between 2008 and 2015 were analyzed. PHGDH expression levels were determined using immunohistochemistry and categorized as "low" or "high." RESULTS: PHGDH-high was associated with higher FIGO stage and increased use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with PHGDH-high tumors had significantly worse survival than PHDH-low, even after adjusting for confounding factors.

Effect of reduced follow-up care on patient satisfaction with care among patients with endometrial cancer: The ENSURE randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the optimal follow-up schedule after endometrial cancer is lacking. The study aim was to compare satisfaction with care between women who received reduced follow-up care and women who received usual guideline-directed follow-up care for three years after surgery. METHODS: The ENSURE (ENdometrial cancer SURvivors' follow-up carE) trial was a non-inferiority randomized controlled multicenter trial in 42 hospitals in the Netherlands. The intervention arm received reduced follow-up care (4 visits/3 years), while the control group received usual follow-up care (8-11 visits/3 years). Primary outcome was overall satisfaction with care, PSQIII score, over three years follow-up, with a non-inferiority margin of 6. Mixed linear regression, intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses (presented below) were used. RESULTS: Among 316 women included, overall satisfaction with care was not lower in the reduced follow-up (mean 82; SD = 15) compared with the usual follow-up group (mean 80; SD = 15) group (B = 1.80(-2.09;5.68)). At 6, 12 and 36 months, more women (93/94/90%) in the reduced follow-up group were satisfied with their follow-up schedule than in the usual follow-up group (79/79/82%; p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p = 0.050). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Women with low-risk, early-stage endometrial cancer who received reduced follow-up care were no less satisfied with their care than women receiving usual follow-up care. Compared with usual follow-up, women in the reduced follow-up group had fewer clinical visits and, at the same time, more often reported being satisfied with their follow-up schedule. Findings suggest that reduced follow-up care may be the new standard, but should be tailored to meet additional needs where indicated.

The effect of progestin therapy in advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Fifteen percent of patients with endometrial cancer (EC) have advanced stage disease or develop a recurrence. Progestins have been applied as systemic treatment for decades, but there is limited evidence on response prediction with biomarkers and toxicity. OBJECTIVES: To review the response and toxicity of progestin therapy and stratify response to progesterone receptor (PR) expression and tumour grade. SEARCH STRATEGY: We used the search terms 'Endometrial cancer', 'Progestins', 'Disease progression', 'Recurrence' and related terms in Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane databases. SELECTION CRITERIA: Studies on patients with advanced stage or recurrent EC treated with progestin monotherapy were included. Studies on adjuvant therapy, with fewer than ten cases and with sarcoma histology were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Evaluation for bias was performed with the Revised Cochrane RoB2 tool for randomised studies and the ROBINS-I tool for non-randomised studies. A random effects meta-analysis was performed with the overall response rate (ORR), clinical benefit rate and toxicity as primary outcome measures. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-six studies (1639 patients) were included. The ORR of progestin therapy was 30% (95% CI 25-36), the clinical benefit rate was 52% (95% CI 42-61). In PR-positive EC, the ORR was 55%, compared with 12% in PR-negative disease (risk difference 43%, 95% CI 15-71). Severe toxicity occurred in 6.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Progestin therapy is a viable treatment option in patients with advanced stage and recurrent EC with low toxicity and high ORR in PR-positive disease. The role of PR expression in relation to progression-free survival and overall survival is unclear.

Case-mix adjustment to compare hospital performances regarding complications after cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer: a nationwide population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Complication rates after cytoreductive surgery are important quality indicators for hospitals that treat patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Case-mix factors are patient and tumor characteristics that may influence hospital outcomes such as the complication rates. Currently, no case-mix adjustment model exists for complications after cytoreductive surgery; therefore, it is unclear whether hospitals are being compared correctly. This study aims to develop the first case-mix adjustment model for complications after surgery for advanced-stage ovarian cancer, enabling an accurate comparison between hospitals. METHODS: This population-based study included all patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery for advanced-stage ovarian cancer registered in the Netherlands in 2017-2019. Case-mix variables were identified and assessed using logistic regressions. The primary outcome was the composite outcome measure 'complicated course'. Patients had a complicated course when at least one of the following criteria were met: (1) any complication combined with a prolonged length of hospital stay; (2) complication requiring reintervention; (3) any complication with a prolonged length of stay in the intensive care unit; or (4) 30-day mortality or in-hospital mortality during admission following surgery. Inter-hospital variation was analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regressions and visualized using funnel plots. RESULTS: A total of 1822 patients were included, of which 10.7% (n=195) had a complicated course. Comorbidity and tumor stage had a significant impact on complicated course rates in multivariable logistic regression. Inter-hospital variation was not significant for case-mix factors. Complicated course rates ranged between 2.2% and 29.1%, and case-mix adjusted observed/expected ratios ranged from 0.20 to 2.67 between hospitals. Three hospitals performed outside the confidence intervals for complicated course rates. These hospitals remained outliers after case-mix adjustment. CONCLUSION: There is variation between hospitals regarding complicated course rates after cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer in the Netherlands. While comorbidity and tumor stage significantly affected the complicated course rates, adjusting for case-mix factors did not significantly affect hospital outcomes. The limited impact of case-mix adjustment could be a result of the Dutch centralized healthcare model.

Stage, treatment and survival of low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma in the Netherlands: A nationwide study.

INTRODUCTION: Serous ovarian carcinomas constitute the largest group of epithelial ovarian cancer (60%-75%) and are further classified into high- and low-grade serous carcinoma. Low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC) is a relatively rare subtype (approximately 5% of serous carcinomas) and epidemiologic studies of large cohorts are scarce. With the present study we aimed to report trends in stage, primary treatment and relative survival of LGSC of the ovary in a large cohort of patients in an effort to identify opportunities to improve clinical practice and outcome of this relatively rare disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with LGSC between 2000 and 2019 were identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (n = 855). Trends in FIGO stages and primary treatment were analyzed with the Cochran-Armitage trend test, and differences in and trends of 5-year relative survival were analyzed using multivariable Poisson regression. RESULTS: Over time, LGSC was increasingly diagnosed as stage III (39.9%-59.0%) and IV disease (5.7%-14.4%) and less often as stage I (34.6%-13.5%; p < 0.001). Primary debulking surgery was the most common strategy (76.2%), although interval debulking surgery was preferred more often over the years (10.6%-31.1%; p < 0.001). Following primary surgery, there was >1 cm residual disease in only 15/252 patients (6%), compared with 17/95 patients (17.9%) after interval surgery. Full cohort 5-year survival was 61% and survival after primary debulking surgery was superior to the outcome following interval debulking surgery (60% vs 34%). Survival following primary debulking surgery without macroscopic residual disease (73%) was better compared with ≤1 cm (47%) and >1 cm residual disease (22%). Survival following interval debulking surgery without macroscopic residual disease (51%) was significantly higher than after >1 cm residual disease (24%). Except FIGO stage II (85%-92%), survival did not change significantly over time. CONCLUSIONS: Over the years, LGSC has been diagnosed as FIGO stage III and stage IV disease more often and interval debulking surgery has been increasingly preferred over primary debulking in these patients. Relative survival did not change over time (except for stage II) and worse survival outcomes after interval debulking surgery were observed. The results support the common recommendation to perform primary debulking surgery in patients eligible for primary surgery.

Surgical treatment for clinical early-stage expansile and infiltrative mucinous ovarian cancer: can staging surgeries safely be omitted?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Mucinous ovarian cancers (MOCs) are categorized into infiltrative and expansile subtypes. These subtypes have different characteristics and prognoses. Patients with clinical early-stage disease of both subtypes currently undergo surgical staging (peritoneal washing, biopsies, omentectomy). Peritoneal and lymph node metastases of expansile MOC are rare, but whereas lymph node sampling (LNS) is omitted in these patients, peritoneal staging is not. Therefore, we collected all available MOC data to determine whether staging surgeries could safely be omitted in clinical early-stage expansile and infiltrative MOC. RECENT FINDINGS: Current literature confirms that peritoneal metastases are rare in expansile MOC: more than 90% of patients have early-stage disease. Only 3.4% of the patients with clinical early-stage expansile MOC had positive peritoneal washings at surgical staging. Patients with infiltrative MOC were diagnosed more frequently with advanced-stage disease (21-54%). Moreover, upstaging clinical early-stage infiltrative MOC based on positive cytology, peritoneum and omentum metastases occurred in 10.3% of the patients. Therefore, we recommend that patients with early-stage infiltrative MOC undergo peritoneal staging and LNS. However, in addition to omitting LNS, we can also safely recommend omitting peritoneal staging in patients with clinical early stage expansile MOC. SUMMARY: Peritoneal metastases are rare in clinical early-stage expansile MOC and peritoneal staging can therefore safely be omitted.

Frozen section diagnosis of borderline ovarian tumors with suspicious features of invasive cancer is a devil's dilemma for the surgeon: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Frozen section diagnoses of borderline ovarian tumors are not always straightforward and a borderline frozen section diagnosis with suspicious features of invasive carcinoma (reported as "at least borderline" or synonymous descriptions) presents us with the dilemma of whether or not to perform a full surgical staging procedure. By performing a systematic review and meta-analysis, the prevalence of straightforward borderline and "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses, as well as proportion of patients with a final diagnosis of invasive carcinoma in these cases, were assessed and compared, as quantification of this dilemma may help us with the issue of this clinical decision. MATERIAL AND METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane library databases were searched and studies discussing "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses were included in the review. Numbers of specific frozen section diagnoses and subsequent final histological diagnoses were extracted and pooled analysis was performed to compare the proportion of patients diagnosed with invasive carcinoma following borderline and "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses, presented as risk ratio and risk difference with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: Of 4940 screened records, eight studies were considered eligible for quantitative analysis. A total of 921 women was identified and 230 (25.0%) of these women were diagnosed with "at least borderline" ovarian tumor at the time of frozen section. Final histological diagnoses were reported in five studies, including 61 women with an "at least borderline" diagnosis and 290 women with a straightforward borderline frozen section diagnosis. Twenty-five of 61 women (41.0%) of the "at least borderline" group had invasive cancer at final diagnosis, compared with 28 of 290 women (9.7%) of the straightforward borderline frozen section group (risk difference -0.34, 95% CI -0.53 to -0.15; relative risk 0.25, 95% CI 0.13-0.50). CONCLUSIONS: Women diagnosed with "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses were found to have a higher chance of carcinoma upon final diagnosis when compared with women with a straightforward borderline frozen section diagnosis (41.0% vs 9.7%). Especially in the serous subtype, and after preoperative consent, full staging during initial surgery might be considered in these cases to prevent a second surgical procedure.

No influence of sarcopenia on survival of ovarian cancer patients in a prospective validation study.

OBJECTIVE: Decrease in skeletal muscle index (SMI) during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been associated with worse outcome in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. To validate these findings, we tested if a decrease in SMI was a prognostic factor for a homogenous cohort of patients who received NACT in the randomized phase 3 OVHIPEC-trial. METHODS: CT-scans were performed at baseline and after two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in stage III ovarian cancer patients. The SMI (skeletal muscle area in cm2 divided by body surface area in m2) was calculated using SliceOMatic software. The difference in SMI between both CT-scans (ΔSMI) was calculated. Cox-regression analyses were performed to analyze the independent effect of a difference in SMI (ΔSMI) on outcome. Log-rank tests were performed to plot recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS). The mean number of adverse events per patient were compared between groups using t-tests. RESULTS: Paired CT-scans were available for 212 out of 245 patients (87%). Thirty-four of 74 patients (58%) in the group with a decrease in ΔSMI and 73 of 138 of the patients (53%) in the group with stable/increase in ΔSMI had died. Median RFS and OS did not differ significantly (p = 0.297 and p = 0.764) between groups. Patients with a decrease in SMI experienced more pre-operative adverse events, and more grade 3-4 adverse events. CONCLUSION: Decreased SMI during neoadjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with worse outcome in patients with stage III ovarian cancer included in the OVHIPEC-trial. However, a strong association between decreasing SMI and adverse events was found.

Short-term surgical complications after radical hysterectomy-A nationwide cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Centralization has, among other aspects, been argued to have an impact on quality of care in terms of surgical morbidity. Next, monitoring quality of care is essential in identifying areas of improvement. This nationwide cohort study was conducted to determine the rate of short-term surgical complications and to evaluate its possible predictors in women with early-stage cervical cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Women diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer, 2009 FIGO stages IB1 and IIA1, between 2015 and 2017 who underwent radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy in 1 of the 9 specialized medical centers in the Netherlands, were identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Women were excluded if primary treatment consisted of hysterectomy without parametrial dissection or radical trachelectomy. Women in whom radical hysterectomy was aborted during the procedure, were also excluded. Occurrence of intraoperative and postoperative complications and type of complications, developing within 30 days after surgery, were prospectively registered. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of surgical complications. RESULTS: A total of 472 women were selected, of whom 166 (35%) developed surgical complications within 30 days after radical hysterectomy. The most frequent complications were urinary retention with catheterization in 73 women (15%) and excessive perioperative blood loss >1000 mL in 50 women (11%). Open surgery (odds ratio [OR] 3.42; 95% CI 1.73-6.76), chronic pulmonary disease (OR 3.14; 95% CI 1.45-6.79), vascular disease (OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.07-3.38), and medical center (OR 2.83; 95% CI 1.18-6.77) emerged as independent predictors of the occurrence of complications. Body mass index (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.89-1.00) was found as a negative predictor of urinary retention. Open surgery (OR 36.65; 95% CI 7.10-189.12) and body mass index (OR 1.15; 95% CI 1.08-1.22) were found to be independent predictors of excessive perioperative blood loss. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term surgical complications developed in 35% of the women after radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical cancer in the Netherlands, a nation with centralized surgical care. Comorbidities predict surgical complications, and open surgery is associated with excessive perioperative blood loss.

Does three-dimensional anatomy improve student understanding?

We aim to provide an overview of the various digital three-dimensional visualizations used for learning anatomy and to assess whether these improve medical students' understanding of anatomy compared to traditional learning methods. Furthermore, we evaluate the attitudes of the users of three-dimensional visualizations. We included articles that compared advanced newer three-dimensional anatomy visualization methods (i.e., virtual reality, augmented reality, and computer-based three-dimensional visualizations) to traditional methods that have been used for a long time (i.e., cadaver and textbooks) with regard to users' understanding of anatomy. Of the 1,148 articles identified, 21 articles reported data on the effectiveness of using three-dimensional visualization methods compared to two-dimensional methods. Twelve articles found that three-dimensional visualization is a significantly more effective learning method compared to traditional methods, whereas nine articles did not find that three-dimensional visualization was a significantly more effective method. In general, based on these articles, medical students prefer to use three-dimensional visualizations to learn anatomy. In most of the articles, using three-dimensional visualization was shown to be a more effective method to gain anatomical knowledge compared to traditional methods. Besides that, students are motivated and interested in using these new visualization methods for learning anatomical structures. Clin. Anat. 32:25-33, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Patients' information coping styles influence the benefit of a survivorship care plan in the ROGY Care Trial: New insights for tailored delivery.

BACKGROUND: In efforts to improve the implementation of survivorship care plans (SCPs), the authors assessed whether the impact of SCPs on patient-reported outcomes differed between patients with an information-seeking coping style (monitoring) versus those with an information-avoiding coping style (blunting). METHODS: In the Registration System Oncological Gynecology (ROGY) Care Trial, 12 hospitals in the Netherlands were randomized to deliver SCP care or usual care. All patients with newly diagnosed endometrial and ovarian cancer in the SCP care arm received an SCP that was generated automatically by their oncology provider through the web-based ROGY registration system. Outcomes (satisfaction with information provision and care, illness perceptions, and health care use) were measured directly after initial treatment and after 6, 12, and 24 months. Information coping style was measured at 12 months after initial treatment. RESULTS: Among patients who had a monitoring coping style (N = 123), those in the SCP care arm reported higher satisfaction with information provision (mean score: 73.9 vs 63.9, respectively; P = .04) and care (mean score: 74.5 vs 69.2, respectively; P = .03) compared with those in the usual care arm. Among patients who had a blunting coping style (N = 102), those in the SCP care arm reported a higher impact of the disease on life (mean score: 5.0 vs 4.5, respectively; P = .02) and a higher emotional impact of the disease (mean score: 5.4 vs 4.2, respectively; P = .01) compared with those in the usual care arm. CONCLUSIONS: SCPs may be beneficial for patients who desire information about their disease, whereas SCPs may be less beneficial for patients who avoid medical information, suggesting a need for tailored SCP delivery to improve survivorship care.

Changes in health-related quality of life among gynecologic cancer survivors during the two years after initial treatment: a longitudinal analysis.

Background: While many cancer survivors experience persistent impairments in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for extended periods of time, others recover soon after treatment. The aim of this research is to assess changes in health-related quality of life in endometrial and ovarian cancer survivors during two years post initial treatment, and to assess clinical and sociodemographic characteristics associated with those changes. Methods: This prospective population-based cohort study includes longitudinal data of endometrial (N = 221) and ovarian (N = 174) cancer survivors diagnosed between 2011 and 2014. The EORTC QLQ-C30 functioning scales were used to assess HRQoL after initial treatment and after 6, 12 and 24 months. Clinical (stage, treatment and comorbidities) and sociodemographic (age, marital status and socio-economic status) characteristics were obtained from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and through self-administered questionnaires. Linear mixed models were used to assess changes in HRQoL over time and characteristics associated with these changes. Results: Among both endometrial and ovarian cancer patients, HRQoL improved within the first 6 months after initial treatment. Changes in HRQoL were mainly associated with clinical characteristics including comorbidities, treatment and tumor stage, and to a lesser extent with sociodemographic characteristics such as socioeconomic status. However, these associations varied per tumor type. Endometrial cancer survivors, who received radiotherapy and had no comorbidities, reported greater improvements in some HRQoL scales over time. Ovarian cancer patients who received chemotherapy and with advanced tumor stages reported poorer functioning during treatment. Most functioning domains (global health, physical and role functioning) recovered to levels of patients without chemotherapy or with early-stage disease after 12 months, but cognitive and social functioning remained impaired. Conclusion: Some subgroups of patients, including those with multiple comorbidities, with an advanced tumor stage and who received chemotherapy, may be in need of additional support as they are less likely to show improvements in HRQoL over time.

Trends in incidence, treatment and survival of borderline ovarian tumors in the Netherlands: a nationwide analysis.

Background: Population-based data on borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) are scarce and information regarding recent trends in incidence, treatment and survival is lacking. The purpose of this study was to analyze these trends in the Netherlands and to assess the risk of developing a subsequent invasive ovarian tumor. Material and methods: All consecutive patients diagnosed with BOTs between 1993 and 2016 (n = 7113) were identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). Annual age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated. Relative survival (RS) analyses and multivariable analyses estimating excess mortality were conducted. Patients with a subsequent invasive ovarian tumor were identified by the NCR. Results: Age-adjusted incidence increased from 2.1/100,000 person-years in 1993 to 4.2/100,000 in 2011, after 2011 the incidence declined. The proportion of bilateral tumors decreased over time from 16% in 1993-1998 to 11% in 2005-2010 and remained stable onwards. Survival improved over time (excess mortality ratioadjusted 2011-2016 versus 1993-1998: 0.25; 95%CI: 0.13-0.47). Five-year RS increased from 91% in 1993-1998 to 98% in 2011-2016 and 10-year RS from 88% in 1993-1998 to 96% in 2005-2010. Fewer patients were treated with chemotherapy (4.4% in 1993-1998 versus 0.7% in 2011-2016). During a median follow-up time of 8 years, 0.9% developed a subsequent invasive ovarian carcinoma. Conclusions: The incidence of BOTs increased over time from 1993 until 2010 but declined since 2011. This decline may be partly due to changes in the classification of gynecological tumors, as serous BOTs are now more often diagnosed as low grade serous ovarian cancers. Survival is high and has improved since 1993. The risk of a subsequent invasive ovarian carcinoma seems low.

Centralization of ovarian cancer in the Netherlands: Hospital of diagnosis no longer determines patients' probability of undergoing surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical care for advanced stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients has been centralized in the Netherlands since 2012. We evaluated whether the likelihood for patients to undergo surgery depends on the hospital of initial diagnosis before and after centralization of surgical care. METHODS: Patients with EOC FIGO stage IIB-IV, diagnosed in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2015, were identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression was used to study the association between hospital of diagnosis and patients' likelihood of undergoing surgery in subsequent time periods. Furthermore, changes in overall survival were analyzed by multivariable Cox regression models. RESULTS: 15,314 EOC patients were selected from the NCR. Hospital of diagnosis was identified as a significant level for patients' likelihood of undergoing surgery in 2000-2005 (LR test p<0.001), as well as in 2006-2011 (LR test p=0.002) but not in 2012-2015 (LR test p=0.127). Patients who underwent surgery in 2012-2015 had a better survival when compared to 2006-2011 (HR 0.90(0.84-0.96)). CONCLUSION: This study shows that centralization of surgical care resolved the variation between hospitals in the probability to undergo cytoreductive surgery for patients with advanced EOC. Since centralization was established in 2012, the decision to operate patients seems solely attributable to patient and tumor characteristics. This supports the growing evidence in favor of centralizing (surgical) treatment for complex and heterogeneous diseases such as EOC.

Recurrent Cancer Is Associated With Dissatisfaction With Care-A Longitudinal Analysis Among Ovarian and Endometrial Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to assess the longitudinal impact of a recurrence of gynecological cancer on satisfaction with information provision and care. The secondary aim was to assess the impact of a recurrence on illness perceptions, anxiety, and depression and health-related quality of life. METHODS: This study is a longitudinal analysis from the ROGY Care trial, conducted between 2011 and 2014, including patients with endometrial (n = 215) and ovarian (n = 149) cancer. Patients were invited to complete questionnaires directly after initial treatment and after 6, 12, and 24 months. Satisfaction with information provision and care, illness perceptions, anxiety, and depression were compared before and after the recurrence. Linear mixed-model analyses were conducted to assess the differences in outcomes of patients with a recurrence compared with patients without a recurrence. RESULTS: During 2-year follow-up, 25 patients with endometrial cancer (12%) and 64 patients with ovarian cancer (43%) had recurrent disease, of whom 9 endometrial and 26 ovarian cancer patients completed at least 1 questionnaire after their recurrence was determined. Patients reported lower satisfaction with care after the diagnosis of a recurrence (doctor interpersonal skills, exchange of information between caregivers, and general satisfaction with care) compared with patients without recurrence. In addition, patients reported lower health-related quality of life, more anxiety and depression, and more threatening illness perceptions after diagnosis of a recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: After diagnosis of recurrent disease, endometrial and ovarian cancer patients were less satisfied with care compared with patients without a recurrence. Our findings suggest that patients with recurrent cancer are in need of care that is better tailored to their needs.

Interdepartmental Spread of Innovations: A Multicentre Study of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Programme.

BACKGROUND: Spread of evidence-based innovations beyond pioneering settings is essential to improve quality of care. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of a national project to implement 'Enhanced Recovery After Surgery' (ERAS) among colorectal teams on the spread of this innovation to gynaecological procedures. METHODS: A retrospective observational multicentre study was performed of a consecutive sample of patients who underwent major elective gynaecological surgery in 2012-2013. Ten Dutch hospitals (294 patients) had participated in a colorectal breakthrough project implementing ERAS on a nationwide basis and were assigned to the intervention group. Thirteen hospitals (390 patients) that had not participated in this project acted as controls. Outcome measures were time to functional recovery and total length of postoperative hospital stay. Multilevel models adjusted for clustering and baseline demographics were used for analysis. The uptake of ten selected perioperative care elements was evaluated for each hospital. RESULTS: The estimated mean difference (95% confidence interval) between the intervention and control hospitals was -0.3 (-0.9 to 0.3) days in the time to recovery and 0.2 (-0.8 to 1.3) days in the total length of hospital stay. The mean (± standard deviation) absolute rate of implemented perioperative care elements per hospital was 28.9 ± 14.9% in the control, versus 29.3 ± 11.1% in the intervention group (p = 0.934). CONCLUSION: Initial implementation effects seem to be restricted to the participating teams and do not automatically spread to other surgical teams in the same hospital.

Survivorship care plans have a negative impact on long-term quality of life and anxiety through more threatening illness perceptions in gynecological cancer patients: the ROGY care trial.

PURPOSE: Prior results from the registration system oncological gynecology (ROGY) care trial showed that survivorship care plans (SCPs) increased threatening illness perceptions in gynecological cancer survivors, but it remained unclear whether this would result in poorer physical and psychosocial outcomes. The aim of the current study is to assess the direct and indirect effects of SCPs on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and anxiety and depression, through illness perceptions. METHODS: Twelve hospitals in the South of the Netherlands were randomized to providing 'SCP care' or 'usual care.' Newly diagnosed endometrial and ovarian cancer patients completed questionnaires after initial treatment (endometrial, 221 [75%]; ovarian, 174 [71%]) and after 6, 12, and 24 months. SCPs were automatically generated after initial treatment by the oncology providers through the web-based ROGY. Illness perceptions were measured after initial treatment and HRQoL and anxiety and depression after 6, 12, and 24 months. RESULTS: Structural equation models showed that endometrial cancer patients who experienced more symptoms or concern due to the SCP reported worse social functioning (ß = - 0.82; p = 0.01) and more fatigue, insomnia, pain, and anxiety (ß = 0.58-0.86, p < 0.05) within 12 months after treatment. Ovarian cancer patients who had lower trust that the treatment would cure their disease due to the SCP reported worse emotional functioning 6 months after treatment (ß = 0.27, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Current results show that SCPs may have negative effects on HRQoL and anxiety in patients who experience more threatening illness perceptions due to the SCP. We should be aware of the potential negative consequences of SCPs. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01185626.

Illness perceptions and changes in lifestyle following a gynecological cancer diagnosis: A longitudinal analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study explores patterns of lifestyle change and whether more threatening illness perceptions are associated with lifestyle changes post-treatment for smoking, alcohol consumption and Body Mass Index (BMI) among gynecological cancer patients. METHODS: In total, 395 cancer patients (N=221 endometrial; N=174 ovarian) were included in this secondary analysis of longitudinal data. Lifestyle outcomes were assessed through self-reported questionnaires after initial treatment and 6, 12, and 18months of follow-up. Illness perceptions were assessed with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ). Latent class growth curve analyses were conducted to identify patterns of lifestyle change and linear mixed models using between-subject and within-subject effects to explore the association between BIPQ items and alcohol consumption (glasses/week) and BMI (kg/m2). RESULTS: After initial treatment, 15% (N=57) of the patients smoked, 53% (N=203) drank alcohol, and 60% (N=236) were overweight or obese. Overall, smokers made no considerable changes, but one subgroup of low level smokers reported positive decline. A slight decrease was observed for alcohol consumption among low and moderate level alcohol drinker subgroups, whereas BMI remained stable among endometrial cancer patients and increased for ovarian cancer patients. Moreover, patients with lower trust in their treatment to cure the disease drank more alcohol (ß=0.32 glasses/week [95% CI 0.09; 0.56]). CONCLUSIONS: Change in lifestyle after a gynecological cancer treatment is not self-evident. Moreover, more threatening illness perceptions were not related to a healthier lifestyle. This study underlines the need for lifestyle-promoting activities to facilitate lifestyle improvement among gynecological cancer patients.

Staging procedures in patients with mucinous borderline tumors of the ovary do not reveal peritoneal or omental disease.

OBJECTIVES: Staging in case of a borderline tumor of the ovary (BOT) is a controversial issue. Upstaging is not uncommon, but this occurs especially with presumed stage I serous borderline tumors. There are only a few documented cases of BOTs of non-serous histology that were not confined to the ovary. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of non-invasive and invasive implants in the omentum and other (extra)pelvic peritoneal surfaces in patients with a mucinous BOT (mBOT). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed in three hospitals in the Netherlands. All patients with a histopathological diagnosis of mBOT diagnosed from January 1st 1990 to December 1st 2015 were identified and included when the inclusion criteria were met. RESULTS: In total, 74 patients were included. Of these 74 patients, 46 (62.2%) underwent a staging procedure. In 12 (26.1%) patients, only omental tissue was obtained, in 32 (69.6%) patients, omental tissue and peritoneal biopsies were obtained and in two (4.3%) patients, only peritoneal biopsies were obtained. No implants were seen upon microscopic examination in any of the patients. Two patients (3%) developed a recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Because no extra-ovarian disease was found, staging procedures in the case of an mBOT may be omitted. However, the actual perioperative decision for staging or not should be taken in the context of a frozen section diagnosis, which is not always accurate and straightforward. Recurrence with malignant disease is rare after mBOT. The value of post-treatment surveillance seems limited after bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.