Diagnosis and resection of a giant ovarian cyst presenting in a young patient with contralateral back pain and lower limb deep vein thrombosis.

We present a case of a giant ovarian cyst in a 20-year-old woman who presented atypically at our Emergency Department with left-sided back pain followed by acute left leg swelling. Blood tests showed significantly raised C-Reactive Protein and D-Dimer. CT-Abdomen-Pelvis demonstrated a large mass in the region of the right ovary with suspicious heterogeneous filling defects in the left external iliac vein, confirmed as a left-sided deep-vein thrombosis on ultrasound Doppler. MRI revealed the lesion to be cystic and the deep venous thrombosis was treated with twice-daily Clexane. Prior to removal of the cyst, an Inferior Vena Cava Filter was placed to reduce thromboembolic risk. The cyst was resected without complication and the postoperative period was uneventful. This case occurred while face-to-face services were limited by COVID-19 and illustrates the need for robust systemic measures to safeguard patients against the emergency sequelae of insidious gynaecological pathology.

Vaginal Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Retrospective Study of Treatment and Outcomes Among a Cohort of UK Women.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical features of women found to have vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VaIN), the treatment modalities that they were offered, and clinical outcomes after treatment and follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective review of all cases of biopsy-proven or treated VaIN occurring for a 15-year period at Southend University Hospital, United Kingdom. RESULTS: Eighty-eight cases of VaIN were identified. The age range was from 24 to 76 years, and 39% of cases were low grade (VaIN 1) and 60% high grade (VaIN 2 and 3). Sixty-five percent of patients had either already undergone or would go on to have treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Of those with low-grade disease, 86% were managed conservatively with a 97% success rate. Similarly, with high-grade disease, 77% were managed with laser treatment with a success rate of 76% for primary treatment. Of the 6 cases of high-grade disease treated conservatively, 50% subsequently needed active treatment. There was 1 case of progression to vaginal cancer (1.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia remains an uncommon premalignant condition. It can affect women of all ages and is commoner in those who are immunosuppressed. Observation of low-grade disease is safe and the abnormality often resolves spontaneously. For persistent disease or higher-grade abnormalities, there are many treatment options but laser vaporization is the most commonly used. However, because of the nature of VaIN, recurrence is common even after treatment and further management can be challenging. The overall rate of malignant progression is small but protracted follow-up may be necessary.

Surgical approach to a vulval-pubic cartilaginous cyst: A case report and review of published work.

Cartilaginous cyst of symphysis pubis is rare and to our knowledge 12 cases have been reported in the published work. Although cartilaginous cysts of the vulva and pubis are likely to present to a gynecologist as a vulval-pubic mass, their diagnosis and management warrants a multidisciplinary team approach because of their rarity and anatomical location. Non-invasive diagnosis includes magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound scan, while the invasive preoperative biopsy is reserved for cases with a high index of suspicion of malignancy. The surgical approach for the management of vulval-pubic cartilaginous cyst is not well established. The current case demonstrates a joint surgical approach involving a gynecologist and orthopedic surgeon in management of a degenerative cartilaginous cyst. As this condition is benign, every effort should be made to preserve the stability of the pubic symphysis. Symphyseal dysfunction from surgery remains a potential complication for which treatment is not straightforward.

Symptoms and risk factors of ovarian cancer: a survey in primary care.

In spite of the increased awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms, the predictive value of symptoms remains very low. The aim of this paper is to obtain the views of general practitioners (GPs) in relation to symptom-based detection of ovarian cancer and to assess their knowledge for family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer as a predisposing factor for ovarian cancer. In this questionnaire survey, postal questionnaires were sent to 402 GPs in 132 primary care clinics, out of which we obtained 110 replies (27.4%). Approximately 26% of respondent GPs thought that the symptoms were more likely to be frequent, sudden, and persistent, and one-fifth were unsure of the importance of family history of breast cancer in relation to ovarian cancer. The participant GPs scored a set of symptoms for their relevance to ovarian cancer from 0 (not relevant) to 10 (most relevant). The highest scored symptoms were abdominal swelling (mean ± SD, 8.19 ± 2.33), abdominal bloating (7.01 ± 3.01), and pelvic pain (7.46 ± 2.26). There was a relative lack of awareness for repetitive symptoms as well as gastrointestinal symptoms as an important feature in a symptom-based detection of ovarian cancer.

Family history and women with ovarian cancer: is it asked and does it matter?: An observational study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine how many women in an ovarian cancer (OC) study cohort had a family history (FH) recorded in their case notes and whether appropriate action was taken on the basis of that FH. METHODS: This was a review of patient case-note data of women in a randomized controlled trial of follow-up after primary treatment for OC. Available case notes of 114 women recruited at 3 UK gynecologic cancer centers in a 2-year period between January 2006 and 2008 were examined. Case-note entries for the period from first hospital consultation to 2 years after completion of primary treatment were included. Outcome measures were (1) recording of an FH of cancer in the case notes, (2) whether appropriate action had been taken on the basis of the FH in those women with affected relatives, and (3) characterizing insufficient FH records. RESULTS: Family history was not consistently recorded. Although FH was recorded in the majority of women, 14 women had no FH recorded. In 63 women, the FH was recorded as not significant, and in 15 cases, FH information was insufficient to complete a risk assessment. Twenty-two women had significant FH meeting criteria for specialist genetics referral. In 15 of these 22 cases, the relevant history suggestive of hereditary breast cancer and OC (due to BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations) or Lynch syndrome had been documented, but no action was recorded, and its significance was not appreciated. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that training in recognizing relevant FH is needed for clinicians looking after women with OC. Research is necessary to determine the barriers in taking and interpreting an FH and to determine the optimal time for broaching FH issues during a woman's care pathway. This will improve the accuracy of FH recording and ensure families with OC have access to appropriate surveillance and genetic testing.

E2F5 status significantly improves malignancy diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian epithelial cancer (OEC) usually presents in the later stages of the disease. Factors, especially those associated with cell-cycle genes, affecting the genesis and tumour progression for ovarian cancer are largely unknown. We hypothesized that over-expressed transcription factors (TFs), as well as those that are driving the expression of the OEC over-expressed genes, could be the key for OEC genesis and potentially useful tissue and serum markers for malignancy associated with OEC. METHODS: Using a combination of computational (selection of candidate TF markers and malignancy prediction) and experimental approaches (tissue microarray and western blotting on patient samples) we identified and evaluated E2F5 transcription factor involved in cell proliferation, as a promising candidate regulatory target in early stage disease. Our hypothesis was supported by our tissue array experiments that showed E2F5 expression only in OEC samples but not in normal and benign tissues, and by significantly positively biased expression in serum samples done using western blotting studies. RESULTS: Analysis of clinical cases shows that of the E2F5 status is characteristic for a different population group than one covered by CA125, a conventional OEC biomarker. E2F5 used in different combinations with CA125 for distinguishing malignant cyst from benign cyst shows that the presence of CA125 or E2F5 increases sensitivity of OEC detection to 97.9% (an increase from 87.5% if only CA125 is used) and, more importantly, the presence of both CA125 and E2F5 increases specificity of OEC to 72.5% (an increase from 55% if only CA125 is used). This significantly improved accuracy suggests possibility of an improved diagnostics of OEC. Furthermore, detection of malignancy status in 86 cases (38 benign, 48 early and late OEC) shows that the use of E2F5 status in combination with other clinical characteristics allows for an improved detection of malignant cases with sensitivity, specificity, F-measure and accuracy of 97.92%, 97.37%, 97.92% and 97.67%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our findings, in addition to opening a realistic possibility for improved OEC diagnosis, provide an indirect evidence that a cell-cycle regulatory protein E2F5 might play a significant role in OEC pathogenesis.

Ovarian cancer diagnosis with complementary learning fuzzy neural network.

OBJECTIVE: Early detection is paramount to reduce the high death rate of ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, current detection tool is not sensitive. New techniques such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) micro-array and proteomics data are difficult to analyze due to high dimensionality, whereas conventional methods such as blood test are neither sensitive nor specific. METHODS: Thus, a functional model of human pattern recognition known as complementary learning fuzzy neural network (CLFNN) is proposed to aid existing diagnosis methods. In contrast to conventional computational intelligence methods, CLFNN exploits the lateral inhibition between positive and negative samples. Moreover, it is equipped with autonomous rule generation facility. An example named fuzzy adaptive learning control network with another adaptive resonance theory (FALCON-AART) is used to illustrate the performance of CLFNN. RESULTS: The confluence of CLFNN-micro-array, CLFNN-blood test, and CLFNN-proteomics demonstrate good sensitivity and specificity in the experiments. The diagnosis decision is accurate and consistent. CLFNN also outperforms most of the conventional methods. CONCLUSIONS: This research work demonstrates that the confluence of CLFNN-DNA micro-array, CLFNN-blood tests, and CLFNN-proteomic test improves the diagnosis accuracy with higher consistency. CLFNN exhibits good performance in ovarian cancer diagnosis in general. Thus, CLFNN is a promising tool for clinical decision support.

Malignant mesenchymoma arising from a uterine leiomyoma in the menopause.

BACKGROUND: Malignant mesenchymoma is a rare tumor and location in the uterus is even rarer. We describe the first case of malignant mesenchymoma arising from a uterine fibroid in the menopause. CASE REPORT: A 64-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and underwent surgery for a large "uterine fibroid" with suspicious features on ultrasound scan. The mass had developed after the menopause. Histology showed benign leiomyomatous tissue with malignant areas consistent with malignant mesenchymoma. CONCLUSION: We report the first case of malignant mesenchymoma arising from the uterus in menopause. Certain radiological features may be associated with this tumor. Due to its rarity, information on management of uterine malignant mesenchymoma is lacking and management options of uterine leiomyosarcomas are reviewed as a surrogate.

A study of complications arising from different methods of anesthesia used in high-dose-rate brachytherapy for cervical cancer.

The purpose of this report is to review the complications related to different methods of anesthesia for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for cervical carcinoma. All patients diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1999 and 2002 treated with 3-channel HDR brachytherapy were entered. Complications due to anesthesia for each fraction of brachytherapy were graded using the Common Toxicity Criteria. Eighty-four fractions of brachytherapy were delivered to 18 patients: 19 fractions with patients under general anesthesia (GA), 41 with patients under topical anesthesia and sedation, 5 with patients under paracervical nerve block, and 19 with patients under conscious sedation. Thirteen complications were reported: 12 related to GA and 1 due to paracervical nerve block. Of complications due to GA, 7 were grade 1 and 5 were grade 2. The complication due to paracervical nerve block (seizure) was grade 3. GA had significantly more complications than topical anesthesia or conscious sedation (both P < 0.001). HDR brachytherapy for cervical cancer under GA has significantly more complications than other methods. Given the increasing use of fractionated 3-channel brachytherapy, further investigation of risks and benefits of anesthetic techniques is required.