Whole abdominal irradiation following chemotherapy in patients with minimal residual disease after second look surgery in ovarian carcinoma.

From January 1981 through December 1985, 65 patients with epithelial carcinoma of the ovary were treated with the following protocol: surgery, combination chemotherapy, second-look surgery documenting tumor less than or equal to 2 cm, and whole abdominal irradiation. Chemotherapy consisted of a combination of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and cisplatinum in 89% of the patients. The median number of cycles was eleven. Second-look surgery documented no residual tumor in 23 patients, microscopic disease in three patients, and macroscopic disease less than or equal to 2 cm in 39 patients. Whole abdominal irradiation was given with an open field technique up to 20 Gy without renal or hepatic shield. A pelvic boost of 15-30 Gy was subsequently added in 17 patients with macroscopic disease in the pelvis at the time of second-look surgery. Fifteen patients received complementary chemotherapy mostly hexamethylmelamine. All but two patients completed whole abdominal irradiation: one refused further radiotherapy after 3 Gy and one developed disease progression with bowel obstruction after 1 Gy. The median follow-up was 69 months. The 3-year and 6-year no evidence of disease survival rates were 60% (95% CI: 48-71) and 33% (95% CI: 21-46), respectively. The 3-year and 6-year recurrence rates were 33% (95% CI: 22-45) and 54% (95% CI: 40-67), respectively. The 3-year and 6-year metastasis rates were 22% (95% CI: 13-34) and 43% (95% CI: 30-58), respectively. A multivariate analysis showed that residual disease after second-look surgery was the only significant prognostic factor with a relative risk of death or local or distant failure of 4.2 (95% CI: 1.9-9.5, p less than 10(-4)). Two patients developed mean-term gastrointestinal complications (small bowel obstructions requiring surgery). Survival remains poor with high level of failure even with aggressive multimodal treatment.

[Sarcoma of the uterus. A clinical study apropos of 50 surgically treated cases at the Gustave Roussy Institute. Review of the literature]. / Sarcomes utérins. Etude clinique à propos de 50 cas opérés à l'Institut Gustave Roussy. Revue de la littérature.

From 1970 to 1987 fifty patients with uterine sarcoma who have been operated at the G. Roussy Institute (IGR) were studied. The histological material was reviewed according to the W.H.O. classification and the Hendrickson and Kempson's criteria. Staging was done on surgical and histological findings according to the pTNM classification of the UICC for endometrial carcinoma. There were 22 cases of heterologous malignant mixed müllerian tumor (MMT), 5 cases of homologous MMT, 20 cases of leiomyosarcoma (LS), 1 high grade stromal sarcoma, 1 low grade stromal sarcoma (stromal myosis (SM], 1 adenosarcoma. There were 22 cases of stage T1 T2, 23 cases of stage T3 T4 and 5 TX (first surgery outside IGR). Total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed in 86% of the cases. Radiation therapy was performed in 26 cases mostly external pelvic irradiation associated with endobrachytherapy. "Cyvadic" combination chemotherapy was used in 16 cases associated with platinum in few cases. There were 2 postoperative deaths, 11 cases of progression and 37 cases of complete remission (CR). Of the 37 cases of CR, 10 patients are alive with NED 6 months to 10 years after diagnosis in 2 cases of MMT. 27 patients presented recurrence or metastasis. Of the 22 patients with pelvi-abdominal recurrence, 10 had debulking surgery (one total pelvic exenteration (PE), three posterior PE). Among them five are alive 14 to 78 months later (3 LS, 1 AS, 1 SM). Thirty percent of the patients developed lung metastasis. The overall five-year survival was 42 +/- 16% (28 patients) (Kaplan-Meier's method), similar to literature data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Cancer risk of hormone replacement treatment in the menopause]. / Risque carcinologique des traitements hormonaux substitutifs de la ménopause.

For the last 40 years oestrogens have been prescribed for treating the menopause and their effects are beginning to be well recognised. Many epidemiological surveys have shown that giving oestrogens by themselves increases the risk of cancer of the endometrium. This most undesirable secondary effect can be neutralised if progestogens are given at the same time. It is even possible to treat endometrial hyperplasia, the precursor stage of cancer of the endometrium. No effects on cancers of the ovary, of the cervix, of the vagina and of the vulva have been found resulting from the use of replacement oestrogens. The epidemiological surveys to study the risk of cancer of the breast linked with oestrogen treatment have not shown that there is any increased risk. There are, however, still some doubts about sub-groups and in particular those women whose ovaries have been removed. As with cancer of the endometrium, taking progestogens at the same time lessens the risk, doubtless because the deficiency in progesterone is more important as a causative agent for the development of tumours in the breast than excess oestrogens. It is necessary to weigh the risks and the benefits of hormone replacement therapy after the menopause, but overall the results of studies that have been carried out until now favour greatly the prescription of such therapy.

Prognostic value of hemoglobin concentrations and blood transfusions in advanced carcinoma of the cervix treated by radiation therapy: results of a retrospective study of 386 patients.

A retrospective study was carried out on 386 patients with advanced cervical carcinomas treated with radiation therapy between 1973 and 1983. The influence of hemoglobin concentrations and blood transfusions before and/or during treatment on the occurrence of distant and/or local regional failures were examined in a univariate and multivariate analyses. In the multivariate analysis hemoglobin concentrations were prognostic only during treatment and patients with at least one value below the threshold of 10 gm% had a significantly higher risk of local regional failure than the patients with all their values above the threshold. Moreover 70% of these high risk patients had less than half of their values below the threshold. It is possible that blood transfusions might be beneficial when given before treatment. However, although it was not significant, blood transfusions given during treatment tended to be an adverse prognostic factor suggesting that blood transfusions might not have completely offset acute anemia prior to transfusion. Our study suggests that anemia during treatment, even of short duration might be detrimental to patients.