Comparison of Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Attendance Based on Referring Provider Specialty.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) attendance differs based on referring provider specialty and identify factors related to PFPT initiation and completion. METHODS: This was an institutional review board-approved retrospective cohort study examining referrals from female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) and non-FPMRS providers at a single academic medical center to affiliated PFPT clinics over a 12-month period. Demographics, referring specialty and diagnoses, prior treatment, and details regarding PFPT attendance were collected. Characteristics between FPMRS and non-FPMRS referrals were compared and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with PFPT initiation and completion. RESULTS: A total of 497 referrals were placed for PFPT. Compared with non-FPMRS referrals, FPMRS referrals were for patients who were older (54.7 years vs 35.6 years), and had higher parity; more were postmenopausal (56% vs 18%) and had Medicare insurance (22% vs 10%) (all P < 0.001). Most FPMRS referrals were for patients with urinary incontinence (69% vs 31%), whereas non-FPMRS referrals were for patients with pelvic pain (70% vs 27%) (both P < 0.0001). Pelvic floor physical therapy attendance was similar in both groups when comparing rates of initiation (47% vs 45%) and completion (13% vs 16%). In multivariate analysis, factors associated with initiation were age 65 years or older, additional therapy provided at referring visit, private insurance, Asian race, pregnant or postpartum at time of referral, and more than 1 referring diagnosis (all P < 0.05). No factors were associated with completion. CONCLUSIONS: Less than half of the patients referred to PFPT initiate therapy, and only 15% complete PFPT. The populations referred by FPMRS and non-FPMRS providers are different, but ultimately PFPT utilization is similar.

Significance of venous thromboembolism in women with cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize risk factors of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and to examine effects of VTE on survival of women with cervical cancer. METHODS: This is a retrospective study examining consecutive stage I-IV cervical cancer cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2014. Cumulative risk of VTE after cervical cancer diagnosis was evaluated by a time-dependent analysis, expressing adjusted-hazard ratio [HR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]. Survival analysis was performed to determine independent risk factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-specific overall survival (OS). RESULTS: VTE was recorded in 98 (12.3%, 95%CI 11.6-22.8) out of 798 cases with 1-, 2-, and 5-year cumulative incidences after cervical cancer diagnosis being 8.4%, 11.3%, and 18.7%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, advanced-stage disease (2-year cumulative risk, distant metastatic disease 44.8% [HR 4.13, 95%CI 1.06-10.7, P=0.003], and locally-advanced disease 13.4% [HR 2.46, 95%CI 1.17-4.43, P=0.004]) were independently associated with increased risk of VTE compared to early-stage disease (stage IA1-IB1 4.1%). In addition, low albumin level (HR per unit change, 0.59, 95%CI 0.40-0.85, P=0.005) and chemotherapy treatment (HR 2.46, 95%CI 1.30-4.66, P=0.006) remained independent risk factors associated with increased risk of VTE. On univariate analysis, VTE was significantly associated with decreased PFS (5-year rates, 22.3% versus 68.7%, P<0.001) and OS (5-year rates, 55.1% versus 90.0%, P<0.001). On multivariable analysis, VTE remained an independent prognostic factor associated with decreased PFS (HR 1.95, 95%CI 1.43-2.67, P<0.001) and OS (HR 3.54, 95%CI 2.04-6.13, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: VTE represents aggressive tumor behavior and poor patient condition, and is an independent prognostic factor for decreased survival in women with cervical cancer.

Treatment patterns and survival outcomes in patients with cervical cancer complicated by complete uterine prolapse: a systematic review of literature.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Cervical cancer complicated by complete uterine prolapse is a rare clinical entity and uniform management recommendations have yet to be determined. The aim of the current review was to examine the effects of management patterns on survival outcomes in cervical cancer patients with complete uterine prolapse. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using three public search engines. This included case reports with detailed descriptions of tumor characteristics, cancer management, and survival outcomes. Treatment patterns and tumor characteristics were correlated to survival outcomes. RESULTS: There were 78 patients with cervical cancer with complete uterine prolapse. Their mean age was 63.7 years. The median duration of prolapse was 147.9 months and 22.2% of the patients experienced persistent/recurrent prolapse after cancer treatment. The mean tumor size was 8.9 cm and squamous cell carcinoma (83.9%) was the most common histologic type. The majority of patients (56.2%) had stage I cancer. Tumor characteristics were similar across the treatment patterns. Survival outcomes were more favorable with surgery-based treatment (48 patients) than with radiation-based treatment (30 patients): 5-year recurrence-free survival rate 72.0% vs. 62.9% (p = 0.057), and 5-year disease-specific overall survival rate 77.0% vs. 68.2% (p = 0.017). After controlling for age and stage, surgery-based therapy remained an independent prognostic factor for better disease-specific overall survival outcome (hazard ratio 0.32, 95% confidence interval 0.11 - 0.94, adjusted p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Although limited in study size, our results at least suggest that surgery-based treatment may have a positive effect on survival outcome in cervical cancer patients with complete uterine prolapse.