Use of tracheloscopy and directed biopsy for evaluating cervical involvement in endometrial carcinoma.

Accurate assessment of cervical involvement in endometrial carcinoma (stage II) is often difficult. The value of tracheloscopy as a possible method for improving accuracy was assessed. One hundred one patients with endometrial carcinoma were studied; 28 were suspected of having cervical involvement on endocervical curettage, and 26 were evaluable. Only five patients were documented to have cervical involvement using tracheloscopy. This finding suggests that there is general overtreatment of patients with false-positive endocervical curettage. However, a definitive statement concerning the incidence of stage II disease in the series cannot be made because many patients received traditional preoperative radiation therapy, which may have eradicated intracervical disease missed by tracheloscopy, therefore falsely confirming stage 1 disease on history from subsequent hysterectomy specimens.

Residual tumor following radiotherapy for locally advanced carcinomas of the uterine cervix. Prognostic significance.

Over a five-year period from 1977 to 1982, 120 patients with locally advanced carcinomas of the uterine cervix were surgically staged by lymphadenectomy and laparotomy. Radiotherapy was then administered according to the pelvic extent of disease, and all patients underwent extrafascial total hysterectomy with adnexectomy at ten weeks after completing radiation therapy. The presence or absence of residual tumor in the hysterectomy specimen appeared to be an important prognostic factor in treatment success or failure. Patients with no residual tumor were found to have an excellent prognosis. Those with residual tumor clear of the resection margins were at risk for distant metastases. Only one survivor was noted in the group of patients in whom the margins of resection were involved with tumor, nearly all of these patients dying from local recurrences. Major operative morbidity in the series was minimal, and consisted of a single ureterovaginal fistula, which required urinary diversion.

Ovarian carcinoma: management of stress in patients and physicians.

A discussion of the management of ovarian cancer invariably involves the problems of death and dying faced by the patient, her family, and her physician. This paper attempts to deal with the general fears, anxieties, and problems of terminality, and also places attention on specific issues involved in living with the ongoing disease and its treatments. Focus is on the effects of the disease on the woman's self-image, on her family and relationships, on life outside the hospital, and on her relationship with her attending physician. Specific problems relating to the periods of (1) diagnosis, (2) operative management and treatment, and (3) terminality are discussed. Understanding the psychosocial realities of the patient provides the physician with added insights into methods to assist the patient in adaptation and coping with this ultimately fatal disease.

Tracheloscopically directed biopsy of the endocervical canal in stage II adenocarcinomas of the endometrium.

Endoscopic inspection of the endocervical canal (tracheloscopy) appears to be a rapid, reliable diagnostic technique to confirm the presence of endometrial neoplasms involving the endocervix found at fractional curettage. A series is presented in which 68% of patients with "positive" endocervical curettage were found to have no involvement of the endocervix by tracheloscopy and biopsy, which was confirmed by subsequent hysterectomy. The technique is discussed, and the use of this procedure in the staging of endometrial malignancies is recommended.

Development of DES-associated clear-cell carcinoma: the importance of regular screening.

Because the rate of malignancies in young women exposed in utero to diethylstilbesterol (DES) is low, appropriate population screening methods have not been established. A case is presented that is believed to represent the first reported instance of a DES-exposed daughter who developed clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina after initially negative examinations. The patient was followed with Papanicolaou smears, pelvic examinations, and colposcopy every 6 months for 2 years prior to the discovery of malignancy. Initially negative, Papanicolaou smears successfully predicted the presence of an early adenocarcinoma. Palpation aided by colposcopy allowed directed biopsy of the small asymptomatic lesion. This case underscores the necessity for frequent vaginal cytologic smears and pelvic examinations at intervals no greater than 6 months. Colposcopy is indicated to direct biopsies when an abnormal cytologic smears is reported or when abnormal bleeding or discharge occurs. Biopsy of any palpable lesion is mandatory.

PIP: The value of frequent routine screening of in utero diethylstilbestrol-exposed women has not been established because of lack of documented reports of patients with initially negative examinations who later developed malignancy. LB, a 19-year-old nulligravida with a history of drug exposure in utero, was 1st evaluated for vaginal adenosis at age 15. The patient was followed with Papanicolaou (Pap) smears, pelvic examination, and colposcopy every 6 months for 2 years before malignancy was discovered. After initially negative Pap smears, the patient's smears were classified as Class III 2 years later, and she was referred to the hospital where colposcopy revealed a cervical collar and extensive columnar ectopy covering the entire cervix. A transformation zone, extending onto the upper third of the vagina, showed epithelial and vascular changes characteristic of immature squamous metaplasia. A directed biopsy (aided by palpation) of the area uncovered a clear cell carcinoma. Reactive hyperplasia was present in multiple lymph nodes, and surgery (radical hysterectomy, total vaginectomy, and vaginal reconstruction) was performed. At 24 weeks postoperation, the patient was sexually active and orgasmic, and 1 year postoperation was clinically free of disease, asymptommatic, and enrolled in college, where follow-up continues. This case underscores the necessity for frequent vaginal cytologic smears and pelvic examinations at intervals no greater than 6 months. Biopsy of any palpable lesion is mandatory.