[Radical trachelectomy with lymphadenectomy]. / La trachelectomia radicale con linfoadenectomia.

Radical trachelectomy was described for the first time by Dargent in 1987 as an alternative to the traditional radical hysterectomy; it led to a changed procedure in therapy for early cervical cancer in young women who want to preserve their fertility. With this technique it is possible to remove the uterine cervix and parametrius and at the same time preserve the upper part of the cervical canal and uterus. Only a low-risk subset of young patients with early cancer of the cervix are considered eligible for this treatment; to select them histological and clinical staging of the lesion are the most important criteria. We describe the cases of three patients treated with radical trachelectomy between June 1997 and March 1998 in our Institute, reporting in detail the surgical procedure and the results.

Biologic prognostic factors in ovarian cancer: a review.

The need of foreseeing the prognosis of ovarian cancer beyond the limits of classical methods based on clinical and histopathological staging has recently caused great interest in a large number of biologic prognostic markers. Studies concern proliferation associated proteins, suppressor genes, abnormal expressions of growth factors, cytokins, and many more. Here some of the most recent and promising factors being studied are described together with their significance for future clinical application.