Overall Survival and Adjuvant Therapy in Women with Ovarian Carcinosarcoma: A Single-Institution Experience.

BACKGROUND: Carcinosarcoma of the ovary (CSO) is a rare and aggressive variant of ovarian cancer. Due to the rare nature of the disease there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations regarding standard management and overall prognosis. METHODS: An Institutional Review Board-approved study identified all our patients with CSO between January 2011 and May 2018. Demographic and outcome measures were abstracted from the medical records and tumor board files. Cox proportional hazard models, log rank tests, and comparisons of means were used to calculate significance (p < 0.05). RESULTS: 27 women with CSO were identified. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range 48-91). Five women (18%) presented with early stage disease (Stage I or II) and 22 patients (82%) presented with late stage III or IV disease. Twenty patients (74%) received intravenous platinum-based combination chemotherapy. Seven patients did not receive chemotherapy during their treatment course. The median overall survival was 23 months (range 2-68 months). Overall survival was not significantly worsened by the stage of disease at diagnosis. There was no difference in survival based on the age at diagnosis, tobacco status or ethnicity (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This is one of the largest single institution experiences with CSO. The majority of our patients presented with advanced stage disease and received adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy after cytoreductive surgery. The median overall survival of 23 months was not affected by the stage of the disease. The optimal management of this rare disease needs further study with collaborative, prospective multi-institutional trials.

Two microRNA signatures for malignancy and immune infiltration predict overall survival in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

MicroRNAs have been established as key regulators of tumor gene expression and as prime biomarker candidates for clinical phenotypes in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We analyzed the coexpression and regulatory structure of microRNAs and their co-localized gene targets in primary tumor tissue of 20 patients with advanced EOC in order to construct a regulatory signature for clinical prognosis. We performed an integrative analysis to identify two prognostic microRNA/mRNA coexpression modules, each enriched for consistent biological functions. One module, enriched for malignancy-related functions, was found to be upregulated in malignant versus benign samples. The second module, enriched for immune-related functions, was strongly correlated with imputed intratumoral immune infiltrates of T cells, natural killer cells, cytotoxic lymphocytes, and macrophages. We validated the prognostic relevance of the immunological module microRNAs in the publicly available The Cancer Genome Atlas data set. These findings provide novel functional roles for microRNAs in the progression of advanced EOC and possible prognostic signatures for survival.

Incidence of lymph node and adnexal metastasis in endometrial stromal sarcoma.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of adnexal and lymph node (LN) metastasis in newly diagnosed endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS). METHODS: We identified all cases with a diagnosis of ESS evaluated at our institution from January 1, 1980 to October 31, 2009. All uterine pathology was reviewed at our center. High-grade or undifferentiated tumors and ESS arising in extrauterine sites were excluded. Pertinent clinical data were abstracted from electronic medical records. Appropriate statistical tests were performed using SPSS16.0. RESULTS: We identified 94 cases of ESS. LN metastasis was identified in 7 (19%) of 36 patients who underwent LN evaluation. Six of the 7 cases with LN metastasis had lymphovascular invasion (LVI). LVI status was not reported in the other case. Five of the 7 patients with LN metastasis had grossly positive LNs with or without other gross extrauterine disease. Of 20 patients with disease grossly limited to the uterus and grossly normal LNs, 2 (10%) had LN metastasis. Both of these cases had LVI and extensive myoinvasion. Eighty-seven cases (93%) underwent salpingo-oophorectomy. Adnexal metastasis was identified in 11 (13%) of 87 cases, all manifested by gross adnexal tumor and occurring in patients with other gross pelvic extrauterine disease. CONCLUSION: The incidence of LN metastasis in ESS is commonly associated with gross extrauterine disease, extensive myoinvasion, and LVI. Since myoinvasion and LVI status often are not assessable at the time of hysterectomy, LN dissection remains a reasonable option at primary surgery. The rate of adnexal metastasis appears to be negligible in the absence of gross adnexal and extrauterine tumor.

Incidence and management of bevacizumab-associated gastrointestinal perforations in patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the incidence and management of bevacizumab-associated gastrointestinal (GI) perforations in patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma. METHODS: We identified all patients who received bevacizumab off protocol from August 2004-August 2008. We examined their medical records for reports of confirmed GI perforation, associated clinicopathological factors, treatment, and outcomes. RESULTS: Six (4%) of 160 patients with ovarian carcinoma who had been treated with bevacizumab developed GI perforations, with a median of 4 (range, 2-8) previous cytotoxic regimens. The median serum CA-125 at the start of treatment was 228 U/mL (range, 50-3106 U/mL). The median number of bevacizumab cycles prior to perforation was 10.5 (range, 2-20). The median time from the last bevacizumab dose to diagnosis of GI perforation was 13 days (range, 1-28 days). Four (67%) patients underwent an exploratory surgery. At laparotomy, one had a gastric perforation and one had an appendiceal perforation; the site of perforation could not be identified in the other 2 Two patients (33%) were managed conservatively-one with a PEG tube and the other with supportive care. The median time of death from the date of diagnosis of GI perforation was 27 days (range, 4-326 days). Only two patients-one with a gastric and the other with an appendiceal perforation-survived >65 days. The 30-day mortality rate following a bevacizumab-associated GI perforation was 50%. CONCLUSION: Bevacizumab-associated GI perforations in patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma occurred in 4% of our patients. The prognosis of patients diagnosed with bevacizumab-associated GI perforations in this study was poor, and treatment should be individualized.

Palliative laparoscopic end colostomy in a nonagenarian.

BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced gynecologic malignancy often require fecal diversion as a sole procedure in cases of obstruction or fistula formation. This unique patient population has a frequent history of advanced age, prior abdominal surgery, pelvic radiation, poor nutritional status and medical comorbidities. The use of laparoscopic colostomy for palliative fecal diversion in this context has not been well described in the gynecologic oncology literature. CASE: We present the first case of palliative laparoscopic end-colostomy in a nonagenarian as a sole procedure for fecal diversion in advanced gynecologic malignancy. CONCLUSION: Palliative laparoscopic end-colostomy is a safe, feasible, and effective method to optimize quality of life in select elderly women with advanced gynecologic malignancy.

Squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary: a case series and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: Malignant transformation of mature cystic teratomas is rare, with squamous cell carcinoma being the most common type. The prognosis is generally poor when disease has spread beyond the ovary. We conducted this study to review our experience with this disease and describe our current treatment modality. METHODS: During a 22-year period (1983-2005), we identified 17 women treated for squamous cell carcinoma arising in a mature cystic teratoma of the ovary. All pathologic diagnoses were confirmed at our institution. A retrospective chart review and comprehensive review of the literature were conducted. RESULTS: The median age was 55 (mean, 54.8; range, 37-75). Eight cases were stage I, 5 were stage II, and 4 were stage III. Mean tumor size was 14.2 cm. All patients underwent surgery, with positive lymph nodes noted in 0 of 10 cases that included lymph node dissection. Ten patients received adjuvant treatment-6 with chemotherapy and 4 with chemoradiation. Six patients had recurrent disease in the pelvis after adjuvant treatment. Four patients died of disease. The overall 1-year survival rate was 60%. The 4 patients with stages IA-IIB disease treated with adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation survived at 12-56 months' follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Squamous carcinomas arising in mature cystic teratomas are commonly large ovarian tumors that occur in perimenopausal women and often present as an incidental pathologic finding. While the prognosis seems highly dependent on surgical stage, there is a lack of consensus in the literature regarding adjuvant treatment. Platinum-based chemotherapy with pelvic radiation may be a reasonable adjuvant therapy for early-stage disease.

En bloc resection of diaphragm with lung for recurrent ovarian cancer: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple series have demonstrated the feasibility of full-thickness diaphragm resection for ovarian cancer metastatic to the diaphragm. However, direct extension of tumor into the lung is sometimes encountered, and successful resection of this type of implant has not been previously described in the gynecologic oncology literature. CASE REPORT: We present the first case of en bloc full-thickness diaphragm resection including a portion of lung tissue using the EndoGIA stapler with primary diaphragmatic closure. DISCUSSION: En bloc full-thickness diaphragm resection including a portion of lung tissue using the EndoGIA stapler is a safe, feasible, and effective method to optimize cytoreduction with disease-free margins in the context of invasive diaphragmatic ovarian cancer metastasis.