Clinical significance of lymph node size in locally advanced cervical cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy / 영남의대학술지

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the in-field lymph node (LN) failure rate according to LN size and to investigate effect of LN size on the survival outcome of patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).METHODS: A total of 310 patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma treated with CCRT were enrolled in retrospective study. LN status was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. All patients received conventional external beam irradiation and high-dose rate brachytherapy, and concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy. In-field LN failure rate according to LN size was analyzed.RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 83 months (range, 3–201 months). In-field LN failure rate in patients with pelvic LN size more than 10 mm was significantly higher than that in patients with pelvic LN size less than 10 mm (p<0.001). A similar finding was observed in the in-field para-aortic LN (PALN) failure rate (p=0.024). The pelvic and PALN size (≥10 mm) was a significant prognostic factor of overall-survival (OS) and disease-free survival rate in univariate and multivariate analyses. The OS rate was significantly different between groups according to LN size (<10 mm vs. ≥10 mm).CONCLUSION: A LN of less than 10 mm in size in an imaging study is controlled by CCRT. On the other hand, in LN of more than 10 mm in size, the in-field LN failure rate increase and the prognosis deteriorate. Therefore, a more aggressive treatment strategy is needed.

Clinical significance of lymph node size in locally advanced cervical cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy / 영남의대학술지

BACKGROUND@#This study aimed to assess the in-field lymph node (LN) failure rate according to LN size and to investigate effect of LN size on the survival outcome of patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).@*METHODS@#A total of 310 patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma treated with CCRT were enrolled in retrospective study. LN status was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. All patients received conventional external beam irradiation and high-dose rate brachytherapy, and concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy. In-field LN failure rate according to LN size was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The median follow-up period was 83 months (range, 3–201 months). In-field LN failure rate in patients with pelvic LN size more than 10 mm was significantly higher than that in patients with pelvic LN size less than 10 mm (p<0.001). A similar finding was observed in the in-field para-aortic LN (PALN) failure rate (p=0.024). The pelvic and PALN size (≥10 mm) was a significant prognostic factor of overall-survival (OS) and disease-free survival rate in univariate and multivariate analyses. The OS rate was significantly different between groups according to LN size (<10 mm vs. ≥10 mm).@*CONCLUSION@#A LN of less than 10 mm in size in an imaging study is controlled by CCRT. On the other hand, in LN of more than 10 mm in size, the in-field LN failure rate increase and the prognosis deteriorate. Therefore, a more aggressive treatment strategy is needed.

Prophylactic extended-field irradiation with concurrent chemotherapy for pelvic lymph node-positive cervical cancer

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate whether prophylactic extended-field pelvic radiotherapy (EF-PRT) yields better results than standard whole pelvic radiotherapy (WPRT) in patients with pelvic lymph node-positive cervical cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 126 cases of stage IB-IVA cervical cancer that had pelvic lymph node involvement in magnetic resonance imaging and were treated with CCRT between 2000 and 2016 were reviewed. None of the patients had paraaortic lymph node (PALN) metastases. The patients were classified to two groups, namely, those treated with EF-PRT, including prophylactic para-aortic radiotherapy, and those treated only with WPRT. The median dose to the PALN area in patients treated with EF-PRT was 45 Gy. All patients received concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy. RESULTS: Overall, 52 and 74 patients underwent EF-PRT and WPRT, respectively. Patient characteristics and irradiated dose were not significantly different, except the dose to the para-aortic area, between the two groups. The median follow-up period was 75.5 months (range, 5 to 195 months). The 10-year cumulative recurrence rate of PALN for EF-PRT vs. WPRT was 6.9% and 10.1% (p = 0.421), respectively. The 10-year disease-free survival and overall survival for EF-PRT vs. WPRT were 69.7% vs. 66.1% (p = 0.748) and 71.7% vs. 72.3% (p = 0.845), respectively. Acute gastrointestinal complications were significantly higher in EF-PRT (n = 21; 40.4%) than WPRT (n = 26; 35.1%) (p = 0.046). Late toxicities were not significantly different in both groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, prophylactic radiotherapy for PALN does not have an additional benefit in patients with pelvic lymph node-positive cervical cancer treated with CCRT.

Clinical value of routine serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen in follow-up of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with radiation or chemoradiation

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical benefits of routine squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) monitoring of patients with locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiation or chemoradiation. METHODS: A total of 53 patients with recurrent cervical squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiotherapy or chemoradiation were enrolled in this study. A retrospective review of medical records was conducted. The role of routine monitoring of serum SCC-Ag was evaluated in terms of cost effectiveness and effect on survival after diagnosis of recurrence. RESULTS: Serum SCC-Ag abnormality (≥2.5 ng/mL) was observed in 62.3% of patients when recurrent disease was diagnosed. The first indicator of relapse was abnormal serum SCC-Ag level in 21 patients (39.6%), 10 of whom had asymptomatic recurrent disease amenable to salvage therapy. Adding SCC-Ag measurement to the basic follow up protocol improved the sensitivity for detecting recurrence (The sensitivity of the basic protocol vs. addition of SCC-Ag: 49.1% vs. 88.7%, P<0.001). Twenty-three patients who were candidates for salvage therapy with curative intent showed better survival compared with those who were not candidates for therapy (5-year survival: 36.6% vs. 0%, P=0.012). CONCLUSION: Surveillance with routine serum SCC-Ag monitoring can better detect asymptomatic recurrent disease that is potentially amenable to salvage therapy with curative intent. Early diagnosis of recurrent disease that can be treated with salvage therapy may lead to better survival.

Intrapelvic dissemination of early low-grade endometrioid stromal sarcoma due to electronic morcellation

Endometrioid stromal sarcoma is a rare malignancy that originates from mesenchymal cells. It is classified into low-grade endometrioid stromal sarcoma (LGESS) and high-grade endometrioid stromal sarcoma. Ultrasonographic findings of LGESS resemble those of submucosal myomas, leading to the possible preoperative misdiagnosis of LGESS as uterine leiomyoma. Electronic morcellation during laparoscopic surgery in women with LGESS can result in iatrogenic intraabdominal dissemination and a poorer prognosis. Here, we report a patient with LGESS who underwent a supracervical hysterectomy and electronic morcellation for a presumed myoma in another hospital. Disseminated metastatic lesions of LGESS in the posterior cul-de-sac and rectal serosal surface were absent on primary surgery, but found during reexploration. In conclusion, when LGESS is found incidentally following previous morcellation during laparoscopic surgery for presumed benign uterine disease, we highly recommend surgical reexploration, even when there is no evidence of a metastatic lesion in imaging studies.

High expression of epidermal growth factor-like domain 7 is correlated with poor differentiation and poor prognosis in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of epidermal growth factor-like domain 7 (EGFL7) in epithelial ovarian cancer, and to assess its relevance to clinicopathological characteristics and patients' survival. METHODS: A total of 177 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were enrolled in the current study. For each patient, a retrospective review of medical records was conducted. Immunohistochemical staining for EGFL7 was performed using tissue microarrays made with paraffin-embedded tissue block. EGFL7 expression levels were graded on a grade of 0 to 3 based on the percentage of positive cancer cells. We analyzed the correlations between the expression of EGFL7 and various clinical parameters, and also analyzed the survival outcome according to the EGFL7 expression. RESULTS: The expression of EGFL7 in ovarian cancer tissues was observed in 98 patients (55.4%). High expression of EGFL7 (grade 2 or 3) was significantly correlated with pathologic type, differentiation, stage, residual tumor after debulking surgery, lymphovascular space involvement, lymph node metastasis, high cancer antigen 125, peritoneal cytology, and ascites. Among these clinicopathologic factors, differentiation was significantly correlated with EGFL7 expression in multivariate analysis (p<0.05). Survival analysis showed that the patients with high EGFL7 expression had a poorer disease free survival than those with low EGFL7 expression (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that EGFL7 expression is a novel predictive factor for the clinical progression of epithelial ovarian cancer, and may constitute a therapeutic target for antiangiogenesis therapy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Overexpression of CD73 in epithelial ovarian carcinoma is associated with better prognosis, lower stage, better differentiation and lower regulatory T cell infiltration / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to evaluate survival outcome according to the expression status of CD73 in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS: A total of 167 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were enrolled in the current study. For each patient, a retrospective review of medical records was conducted. Immunohistochemical staining for CD73, CD8, FoxP3, and CD68 was performed using tissue microarray made with paraffin embedded tissue block. RESULTS: Among the enrolled patients, 29.9% of patients (n=50) showed negative expression for CD73, whereas 70.1% of patients (n=117) showed positive expression for CD73. The CD73 positive group showed better prognosis compared to the CD73 negative group (5-year overall survival of CD73 positive group, 73.0%; that of CD73 negative group, 50.1%; p=0.023). CD73 was more frequently expressed in mucinous adenocarcinoma and clear cell carcinoma compared to serous or endometrioid adenocarcinoma. In addition, CD73 overexpressions were more frequently detected in patients with known good prognostic factors, i.e., low stage, well/moderate differentiation, negative peritoneal cytology, no lymphovascular involvement, and no macroscopic residual tumor after debulking surgery. There was significantly more infiltration of regulatory T cells in the CD73 negative group compared to the CD73 positive group. CONCLUSION: Good prognosis in patients with overexpression of CD73 may be due to that overexpression of CD73 was more frequently observed in epithelial ovarian cancer patients with known good prognostic factors. Therefore, this result means that favorable differentiation and stage have more influence on survival outcome than adverse effect of CD73 per se.

Overexpression of CD73 in epithelial ovarian carcinoma is associated with better prognosis, lower stage, better differentiation and lower regulatory T cell infiltration / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to evaluate survival outcome according to the expression status of CD73 in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS: A total of 167 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were enrolled in the current study. For each patient, a retrospective review of medical records was conducted. Immunohistochemical staining for CD73, CD8, FoxP3, and CD68 was performed using tissue microarray made with paraffin embedded tissue block. RESULTS: Among the enrolled patients, 29.9% of patients (n=50) showed negative expression for CD73, whereas 70.1% of patients (n=117) showed positive expression for CD73. The CD73 positive group showed better prognosis compared to the CD73 negative group (5-year overall survival of CD73 positive group, 73.0%; that of CD73 negative group, 50.1%; p=0.023). CD73 was more frequently expressed in mucinous adenocarcinoma and clear cell carcinoma compared to serous or endometrioid adenocarcinoma. In addition, CD73 overexpressions were more frequently detected in patients with known good prognostic factors, i.e., low stage, well/moderate differentiation, negative peritoneal cytology, no lymphovascular involvement, and no macroscopic residual tumor after debulking surgery. There was significantly more infiltration of regulatory T cells in the CD73 negative group compared to the CD73 positive group. CONCLUSION: Good prognosis in patients with overexpression of CD73 may be due to that overexpression of CD73 was more frequently observed in epithelial ovarian cancer patients with known good prognostic factors. Therefore, this result means that favorable differentiation and stage have more influence on survival outcome than adverse effect of CD73 per se.

Disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis arising after laparoscopic myomectomy / 대한산부인과학회지

Disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis is rare condition characterized by multiple subperitoneal nodules of benign smooth muscle proliferations. It is associated with high level of estrogen such as pregnancy, oral contraceptives or estrogen producing ovarian tumor, and occasionally associated with operation history of myomectomy or hysterectomy. Clinical course of disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis is usually benign, but malignant changes also rarely have been reported. We experienced a case of disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis who has history of laparoscopic myomectomy 10 years ago. The patient was a 35-year-old woman, and her chief complaint was palpable masses in lower abdomen. She underwent laparoscopic surgery which revealed numerous solid masses on the surface of peritoneum, descending colon, rectosigmoid colon, uterus, round ligament, and broad ligament. We present it with a brief review of literature.

A case of mucinous adenocarcinoma arising from retroperitoneal teratoma treated with chemoradiation / 부인종양

Retroperitoneal teratoma with malignant transformation is a rare condition in adults. Its most common malignant transformation is into a squamous cell carcinoma, but rarely into a mucinous adenocarcinoma. Postoperative treatment of mucinous adenocarcinoma arising from teratomas has not been established due to its rare incidence. Here we present a case of retroperitoneal mucinous adenocarcinoma arising from a teratoma in the presacral area. Operative and postoperative managements are described with a brief review of the literatures.

A case of torsion of a subserosal leiomyoma / 대한산부인과학회지

Uterine leiomyoma is the most frequent gynecologic tumor, but acute torsion of uterine leiomyoma is extremely rare. We report a case of a patient who had suffered lower abdominal pain for 2 weeks. Ultrasonogram showed a subserosal uterine leiomyoma. Laparoscopic surgery confirmed the diagnosis of acute torsion of a subserosal uterine leiomyoma.

A case of unusual premature ovarian failure with 46,X,dup(Xq) / 대한산부인과학회지

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is defined as the complete cessation of menses less than 40 years of age. The criteria are more than four months of amenorrhea, with serum follicle stimulating hormone value of >40 mIU/mL and the frequency of POF is about 1% of all women. Although the etiologies of POF remain unknown, suggested factors are genetic, autoimmune, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and environmental toxins. The cytogenetic abnormalities predominantly concern the X chromosome, including Turner syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and deletion, translocation, or duplication of X chromosome. We report a very rare case of premature ovarian failure with the following karyotype: 46,X,dup(Xq), and report it with a brief review of literature.

Comparison of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil versus cisplatin plus paclitaxel in patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare survival outcomes and toxicities between concurrent radiotherapy with cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil and that with cisplatin plus paclitaxel in patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from 93 locally advanced cervical carcinoma patients (stage IB to IVA) who had been treated by concurrent radiotherapy with cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil (CF, n=45) vs. cisplatin plus paclitaxel (CP, n=48) as primary therapy. Toxicities and survival outcomes were compared. RESULTS: In the CP group, there were higher frequencies of severe (grade 3 or 4) leukopenia (79.2%, as compared to 11.1% in the CF group), severe neutropenia (77.1%, as compared to 8.9% in the CF group) and severe peripheral neuropathy (12.5%, as compared to 2.2% in the CF group). In the CF group, there were higher frequencies of severe nausea (33.3%, as compared to 14.6% in the CP group) and severe hyponatremia (11.1%, as compared to 0% in the CP group). Five-year DFS of the CF and CP groups was 67.4% and 79.1%, respectively (p=NS). Five year OS of the CF and CP groups was 79.6% and 80.9%, respectively (p=NS). CONCLUSION: Concurrent radiotherapy with cisplatin plus paclitaxel showed increased leukopenia, neutropenia and peripheral neuropathy, but less gastrointestinal toxicity (nausea) than that with cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil. Survival outcome between these two groups was not statistically different in this study. Large prospective randomized controlled studies will be needed to confirm this result.

Relation between HPV and cyclooxygenase 2 overexpression in cervical carcinoma in situ and carcinoma / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the relation between HPV infection and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) overexpression in cervical carcinoma in situ (CIS) and carcinoma. METHODS: Fourteen patients with CIS, 14 patients with invasive cervical carcinoma, and 14 patients with myoma as control were enrolled. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect high risk types of HPV, and immunohistochemistry was used to detect COX-2 expression. RESULTS: The frequencies of high risk types of HPV infections in CIS or carcinoma were significantly higher than control [CIS: 11 (78.6%), carcinoma: 14 (100%), control: 1 (7.1%), P-value>0.001]. COX-2 expressions in CIS were higher than control (P=0.037), and those in carcinoma were higher than CIS (P=0.002). Three patients with CIS did not show HPV infection and showed lower COX-2 expression than the other patients with HPV infection in CIS group (P=0.013). There was strong correlation between COX-2 expression and HPV infection (P>0.001). However, in multivariate analysis, disease progression from normal to invasive carcinoma was the only independent factor to affect COX-2 overexpression. CONCLUSION: Disease progression from normal to invasive carcinoma might be more important factor to affect COX-2 overexpression than high risk types of HPV infection.

A case of epithelioid sarcoma arising in the vulva / 부인종양

Epithelioid sarcoma of vulva is extremely rare. Only 20 cases have been reported in the literature so far. Early diagnosis is difficult because of its benign appearance as a painless subcutaneous nodule. Therefore treatment can be delayed, although epithelioid sarcoma requires prompt surgery. We report a case of epithelioid sarcoma that occurred in the left vulva with a brief review of literature.

A case of 5 alpha reductase deficiency / 대한산부인과학회지

5 alpha-reductase deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the SRD5A2-gene, resulting in absent or diminished dihydrotestosterone (DHT) formation and, hence, in an underdevelopment of the external genitalia in patients with 46,XY karyotype. Recently we experienced a 17 years old patient with chief complaint of primary amenorrhea, who showed 46,XY karyotype, enlarged clitoris, virilization, undeveloped breast and palpable bilateral inguinal mass. We diagnosed it as 5 alpha?reductase deficiency and removed the bilateral gonads, so we report it with brief review of literature.

Analysis of factors to affect on MR assessment of myometrial invasion and cervical involvement in endometrial cancer / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the depth of myometrial invasion and cervical involvement by endometrial cancer using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Forty three patients with histological diagnosis of endometrial cancer were studied with the results of MRI at 1.5T and subsequently underwent staging operation. The MRI results were compared with pathologic results. Presence of large polypoid tumors, leiomyoma, adenomyosis, distension of uterine cavity by large tumor, atrophy of uteri, utetrine anomalies and tumor protruding into the cervical canal were analyzed. RESULTS: On review, the sensitivity for the detection of myometrial invasion was 93.5%, specificity 58.3%, positive predictive value (PPV) 85.3% and negative predictive value (NPV) 77.8%. For the detection of deep myometrial invasion, sensitivity was 87.5%, specificity 85.7%, PPV 58.3% and NPV 96.8%. For the detection of cervical involvement, sensitivity was 100%, specificity 92.9%, PPV 25%, NPV 100%. Distension of uterine cavity by large tumor (p=0.009) and adenomyosis (p=0.041) were associated with incorrect MRI assessment of myometrial invasion. For cervical involvement, tumor protruding into the cervical canal was associated but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.062). CONCLUSION: MRI scans as reported offered some clinical benefit in preoperative assessment of endometrial cancer, but for assessment of cervical involvement, showed low PPV. When present, distension of uterine cavity by large tumor and adenomyosis may make it difficult to assess myometrial invasion at MR imaging.

Delayed delivery of the second twin / 대한산부인과학회지

We describe a case of diamniotic dichorionic pregnancy at 23 weeks and 6 days of gestation with threatened preterm labor with rupture of membrane of twin one. After 10 days we delivered the first twin. We decided to retain the other one to allow improvement in the outcome for the second twin. The patient was treated with tocolytics, antibiotics, cervical cerclage, steroid and continously monitored. After 58 daysthere was increasing uterine contractility and we delivered the second twin.

Survival Benefits of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Followed by Radical Surgery versus Radiotherapy in Locally Advanced Chemoresistant Cervical Cancer

The aim of this study was to analyze long-term survivals in patients with stage IB to IIA cervical cancer treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy setting. Between February 1989 and January 1998, 94 women with previously untreated stage IB to IIA carcinoma of the uterine cervix who received cisplatin based neoadjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled in this study. All of patients with chemoresponse (complete response, n=15; partial response, n=47) and 16 patients with chemoresistance received radical surgery (RS group). The other 16 patients with chemoresistance received radiotherapy for definite treatment (RT group). In the RS group, the 10 yr survival estimation in patients with bulky tumors (diameter > or =4 cm, n=26) was similar to that with non-bulky tumors (83.3% vs. 89.3%, p=NS). In selected patients with chemoresistance, those treated by radiotherapy (n=16) showed significantly poorer survivals than those treated by radical surgery (n=16) [10 yr survival rates of RT (25%) vs. RS (76.4%), p=0.0111]. Our results support that a possible therapeutic benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus radical surgery is only in patients with bulky stage IB to IIA cervical cancer. In cases of chemoresistance, radical surgery might be a better definite treatment option.

The distribution of HPV subtype and multiple HPV infection in cervical cancer and precancerous lesion / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the distribution of HPV subtype and multiple HPV infection in cervical cancer and precancerous lesion with HPV DNA chip in Korean women. METHODS: We recruited a total of 145 women diagnosed with cervical cancer or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 404 normal women as control between Dec. 2004 and Sept. 2005. We investigated the distribution of HPV subtype and the multiple infection according to cervical lesion. RESULTS: Of the 145 women, 132 (91.0%) showed HPV infection and 111 (76.6%) showed high risk HPV infection by HPV DNA chip. HPV 16 (48/145, 33.1%) was the most common type, and followed by HPV 58, 18, and 33 in CIN or cervical cancer than control (p<0.05). Multiple infections were more common in CIN or cervical cancer than control. There was no correlation between the incidence of multiple HPV infection and cervical lesion in young women (<35 years). In women over 36 years of age, however, multiple infections were the most frequently detected in CIN. CONCLUSION: The types of HPV 16, 58, 18, 33 were common in cervical precancerous or cancer lesion by order of frequency. Multiple infections were common in women under 35 years of age, and in women with CIN over 36 years of age.