Prognosis and prognostic factors of the micropapillary pattern in patients treated for stage II and III serous borderline tumors of the ovary.

BACKGROUND: To determine the prognosis of a micropapillary (MP) pattern in patients with stage II and stage III serous borderline tumor of the ovary (SBOT). METHODS: Review of patients with stage II and stage III SBOT treated or referred to our institution with characterization of an MP pattern and its clinical impact. RESULTS: In 1969-2006, 168 patients were reviewed. Fifty-six patients had SBOT-MP. The rate of conservative surgery was lower in the SBOT-MP group than in the typical SBOT group, but the rate of patients with more than three peritoneal sites with implants was higher in the SBOT-MP group. The rate of invasive implants was not statistically different between the two groups. Eighteen recurrences were observed (six of them in the form of invasive disease) in the SBOT-MP group. Only one death was observed. The overall survival times and recurrence-free intervals were similar in both groups. The only prognostic factor for recurrence in the SBOT-MP group was the use of conservative surgery. CONCLUSIONS: In the present series, an MP pattern doesn't appear to signify a poor prognosis. The only prognostic factor for recurrence in SBOT-MP was the use of conservative surgery. Further studies on the MP pattern are needed to evaluate prognosis and the results of conservative surgery.

Prognostic factors in patients with ovarian serous low malignant potential (borderline) tumors with peritoneal implants.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine prognostic factors in a large series of patients with stage II or III serous low malignant potential ovarian tumor (LMPOT) and peritoneal implants. METHODS: Patients with a serous LMPOT and peritoneal implants treated at or referred to our institution were retrospectively reviewed. The slides of ovarian tumors and peritoneal implants were reviewed by the same pathologist. RESULTS: From 1969 to 2006, 168 patients were reviewed, 21 of whom had invasive implants. Tumors exhibited a micropapillary pattern in 56 patients. Adjuvant treatment had been administered to 61 patients. The median duration of follow-up was 57 months (range, 1-437). Forty-four patients had relapsed and 10 patients had died. The 5-year overall survival rate was 98%. Among patients with noninvasive and invasive implants, 8% and 10%, respectively, had relapsed at 5 years in the form of invasive disease (p = .08). In a multivariate analysis, the use of conservative treatment was the only prognostic factor. INTERPRETATION: The prognosis of serous LMPOT with peritoneal implants remains good. The strongest prognostic factor in patients with an advanced-stage borderline tumor is the use of conservative surgery. In this series, a micropapillary pattern and implant subtype (invasive versus noninvasive) were not prognostic factors.

Impact of infertility drugs after treatment of borderline ovarian tumors: results of a retrospective multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate safety and fertility outcome after the use of infertility drugs in patients who were treated conservatively for a borderline ovarian tumor (BOT). DESIGN: A retrospective multicenter study. SETTING: Centers participating in the French National Register on In Vitro Fertilization registry. PATIENT(S): Thirty patients who were treated for BOT who underwent ovarian induction (OI). INTERVENTION(S): Ovarian induction was performed in 25 patients for infertility after conservative surgery and before surgery for recurrent disease in 5 patients with a single ovary (emergency cases). MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE(S): Fertility and recurrences rates. RESULT(S): The mean number of cycles of OI per patient was 2.6 (range, 1-10 cycles). The median follow-up time after treatment of the BOT was 93 months (range, 26-276 months). After a median follow-up time of 42 months after OI, 4 recurrences were observed (initial management was simple cystectomy in 3 of them). All recurrences were borderline tumors on a remaining ovary that had been treated by surgery alone. All patients are currently disease-free. Thirteen pregnancies were observed (10 pregnancies (40%) in the group of 25 patients who were treated for infertility). CONCLUSION(S): These results suggest that infertility drugs could be used safely in patients who experience infertility after conservative management of an early-stage BOT.

Impact of surgical approach on the management of macroscopic early ovarian borderline tumors.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the surgical approach on the management and outcomes of patients with early borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of patients with stage Ia to Ic BOT treated surgically between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 2001. We compared patients initially managed by laparoscopy vs. laparotomy in terms of potentially harmful procedures and quality of staging. RESULTS: Of the 118 included patients, 48 (41%) had laparoscopy for initial surgery, 54 (45%) had laparotomy, and 16 (14%) had conversion from laparoscopy to laparotomy. Conservative treatment (57% of patients) was more common with laparoscopy (vs. laparotomy, P < 0.05) and in women older than 44 years (vs. younger than 44 years, P < 0.001). Intraoperative tumor rupture occurred in 9% of patients and was not associated with the surgical approach (P = 0.1). Bag extraction was used in 19 (40%) of the 48 laparoscopy patients. Staging was incomplete in 73% of patients overall. By univariate analysis, better quality of staging was associated with bilateral adnexectomy, age >44 years, laparotomy, hysterectomy, and treatment after 1995. By multivariate analysis, bilateral adnexectomy or hysterectomy was associated with better staging. Mean follow-up was 40 months, during which recurrence and survival rates were similar in the laparoscopy and laparotomy groups. CONCLUSION: Staging of macroscopic early stage BOTs was better in patients requiring radical surgery. After adjustment on disease severity, type of surgical access was not related to staging quality.

Results after laparoscopic management of serous borderline tumor of the ovary with peritoneal implants.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the clinical outcomes of laparoscopic treatment of borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) with peritoneal implants. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patients treated initially and/or for recurrent disease using a laparoscopic approach for a stage II or stage III BOT between January 2001 and January 2004. RESULTS: Nine patients underwent a laparoscopic pure treatment of stage II/III serous borderline tumor. Three of them had a previous history of BOT. Three patients had a stage II and 6 a stage III disease. A conservative management was performed in 7 patients. Laparoscopic treatment of peritoneal implants included: omentectomy (or omental biopsies) in 4 patients and/or large peritoneal resection in 5 patients (pelvic peritoneum in all patients associated with peritonectomies of paracolic gutters in 2 and of the peritoneum of the right diaphragmatic peritoneum in 3). Implants were nonivasive in 8 patients. Each of implant had a size <5 mm. Four patients recurred, 3 of them had a borderline ovarian recurrence after conservative management. Two patients had peritoneal disease found during a second-look surgery (associated with ovarian recurrence in 1). Three spontaneous pregnancies were observed. All patients are alive without evidence of disease with a median time of follow-up of 35 months following the laparoscopic treatment. CONCLUSION: Our series suggests that laparoscopic treatment of patients with BOT associated with small size non-invasive implants is feasible and seem to be safe. The main indication of this management consists in young patients treated conservatively to preserve their fertility.

Lymph node spread in stage III or IV primary peritoneal serous papillary carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the rates and topography of pelvic and para-aortic nodal involvement in patients with stage III or IV primary peritoneal serous papillary carcinoma (PSPC). METHODS: Retrospective review of 19 women who underwent a systematic bilateral pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. RESULTS: The overall frequency of lymph node involvement was 63% (12/19). Eighteen patients underwent complete resection of peritoneal disease. Only 4 patients underwent this procedure as part of their initial surgery (before chemotherapy). The frequency of pelvic and para-aortic metastases was 58% (11/19) and 58% (11/19), respectively. When para-aortic nodes were involved, the left para-aortic chain above the level of the inferior mesenteric artery was the site most frequently involved (72%). The event-free survival of the 18 patients without macroscopic disease at the end of debulking surgery was significantly correlated with the nodal status. None of the patients with positive nodes developed recurrent disease in abdominal nodes. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of nodal involvement in patients with PSPC is high. The topography of nodal spread is similar to that of ovarian cancer. Lymphadenectomy has a prognostic value.

Previous abdominal surgery and closed entry for gynaecological laparoscopy: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the morbidity from closed laparoscopic access and define the role of previous surgery on the occurrence of these complications. DESIGN AND METHODS: We prospectively recorded data on all laparoscopic procedures between January 2000 and January 2001. We compared results from patients without previous abdominal surgery (group I) with patients with prior abdominal surgery (group II). The insertion site for the Verres needle was trans-umbilical for patients in group I and in the left upper quadrant for patients in group II. SETTING: Gynaecology department of a University Hospital. POPULATION: All laparoscopic procedures between January 2000 and January 2001. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We compared results from patients without previous abdominal surgery (group I) with patients with prior abdominal surgery (group II). The insertion site for the Verres needle was trans-umbilical for patients in group I and the left upper quadrant for patients in group II. RESULTS: Four hundred and seventy-seven laparoscopies were carried out during the study period, 368 women without previous surgery were included in group I, and 109 women were included in group II. We recorded 1 complication (overall complication rate of 0.2% and 31 incidents (6.4%). One complication (small bowel injury) was related to the insertion of the Verres needle (0.2%). The incidents and complications occurred only in group II (P < 0.05). All the complications were treated by laparoscopy. CONCLUSION: The complication rate of the entry step is low in gynaecological laparoscopy. A previous history of laparotomy increases the risk of these complications and incidents. Safety rules and other access method should be investigated for these patients.

Anatomy of pelvic and para-aortic nodal spread in patients with primary fallopian tube carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: To describe characteristics of patients with nodal spread and the anatomy of pelvic and para-aortic node involvement in primary fallopian tube carcinoma. STUDY DESIGN: Between 1985 and 2003, 19 women with primary fallopian tube carcinoma underwent systematic bilateral pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy up to the level of the left renal vein. Initial lymphadenectomy (without chemotherapy) was performed in 6 patients and in 13 patients lymphadenectomies were performed after chemotherapy at the time of second-look operation. RESULTS: Nine patients had nodal involvement: four in the pelvic area and eight in the para-aortic nodes. Two, one, and six patients had stages I, II, or III disease, respectively. When para-aortic nodes were involved, the left para-aortic chain above the level of the inferior mesenteric artery was the site most frequently involved (six patients). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with primary tubal carcinoma, the left para-aortic chain above the level of the inferior mesenteric artery is the most frequently involved. Lymphadenectomy should involve all pelvic and para-aortic chains up to the level of the left renal vein, even in patients with stage I disease.

Port-site implantation after laparoscopic treatment of borderline ovarian tumors.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this article is to report 3 cases of port-site implantation after laparoscopic treatment of a borderline ovarian tumor. CASES: Three patients underwent a laparoscopic procedure for a serous (2 patients) or mucinous (1 patient) borderline ovarian tumor. In 2 patients, the port-site implantation was discovered during a later surgical procedure, and one was discovered clinically 11 months after the initial laparoscopic oophorectomy. Surgical resection of the port-site was the only treatment in all cases. These women are currently alive and disease-free 11, 23, and 51 months after the treatment of the scar metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that, unlike port-site metastasis in other gynecologic malignancies, the prognosis in patients with a port-site implantation after laparoscopic management of borderline ovarian tumor is excellent. The treatment of this complication is surgical resection.

Endometriosis with FDG uptake on PET.

BACKGROUND: The value of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) uptake in endometriosis has not yet been extensively reported. CASE REPORT: A 32-year-old woman was examined to find an explanation for right pelvic pain associated with right subcostal pain. A computerised tomography (CT) scan was compatible with a haemangioma or a focus of endometriosis in the liver. Transvaginal sonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a complex ovarian cyst on the left. Blood CA125 levels were elevated. FDG-PET revealed a focus of uptake in the right paravesical area. Laparoscopy showed a left endometrioma associated with diffuse inflammatory pelvic adhesions. After surgery and 3 months GnRH agonist treatment the pain had disappeared and neither MRI nor FDG-PET showed any pelvic abnormality. The patient subsequently presented with dyspareunia and rectal pain resulting from a right uterosacral nodule and a rectal nodule. These were resected laparoscopically. After a 1-year follow-up, the patient is doing well. CONCLUSION: Endometriosis can give rise to false-positive results on FDG-PET. However, the FDG uptake in this particular case of endometriosis seems to have been due to inflammation rather than to a cyst. This report highlights the relationship between some of the biological features of endometriosis and some observed in neoplastic lesions.

Malignant female adnexal tumor of probable wolffian origin relapsing after pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Female adnexal tumors of probable wolffian origin (FATWO) represent a rare gynecologic tumor and display in the majority of cases a benign behavior. CASE: A 27-year-old woman underwent a laparotomy for a left adnexal mass. Pathologic examination showed a FATWO. Three years later, 1 month after a vaginal delivery, a recurrence of the disease was observed. Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of progesterone receptors that may explain recurrence after pregnancy. CONCLUSION: In light of this case, hormone dependency of FATWO may be suggested.

Preservation of pregnancy in a patient with a stage IIIB ovarian epithelial carcinoma diagnosed at 22 weeks of gestation and treated with initial chemotherapy: case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: To report a case of successful management of a FIGO stage III endometrioid carcinoma of the ovary diagnosed during pregnancy at 22 weeks of gestation and treated with initial chemotherapy while preserving the pregnancy. CASE: The patient underwent a planned cesarean section at 34 weeks after two courses of carboplatin. She delivered a healthy baby. At the same time, a radical hysterectomy, omentectomy, pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomies and peritonectomies were carried out. The surgical resection was complete (no macroscopic residual disease). During histologic examination, traces of persistent disease were found. The patient underwent seven postoperative courses of chemotherapy (carboplatin + paclitaxel regimen) after radical surgery. After 18 months of follow-up posttreatment, the patient remains in complete remission and the child's development is normal. CONCLUSION: Chemotherapy during pregnancy with preservation of the fetus could be considered and should be discussed in case of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) diagnosed during the second trimester of the pregnancy.

Impact of surgical staging in patients with macroscopic "stage I" ovarian borderline tumours: analysis of a continuous series of 101 cases.

The aim of this study was to assess the patient's clinical outcome following complete or incomplete surgical staging in cases treated for an early stage low-malignant-potential ovarian tumour (LMPOT). One-hundred and one patients treated between 1965 and 1998 for a early stage I LMPOT were reviewed according to whether the initial surgical staging was complete (Group 1/defined by peritoneal cytology + peritoneal biopsies + infracolic omentectomy) or incomplete (Group 2/omission of at least one of the peritoneal staging procedures described above). Complete and incomplete surgical stagings were carried out in 48 (48%) and 53 (52%) patients, respectively. Four (8%) LMPOT recurrences were observed in Group 2, all following conservative management, but there were no recurrences in Group 1. No relapses with invasive carcinoma or peritoneal disease and no tumour-related deaths were observed. The absence of complete peritoneal staging in patients with an apparent "stage I" LMPOT increased the recurrence rate. However, this surgical restaging (in cases of incomplete initial surgery) does not modify the survival of patients with apparent "stage I" LMPOT misdiagnosed during the initial surgery. This procedure could probably be omitted: (1) if the peritoneum is clearly reported as "normal" during the initial surgery; (2) in the absence of a micropapillary pattern; and (3) if the patient agrees to be carefully followed-up.

[Sentinel lymph node biopsy in cervical and endometrial cancers: a feasibility study]. / Technique du ganglion sentinelle appliquée aux cancers de l'utérus: étude préliminaire.

The sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has been proposed for the cancers of the uterus in order to optimize the diagnosis of lymphatic metastases and micrometastases in early stage tumors. Patients with early invasive cervical (n = 8) or endometrial (n = 15) cancers were enrolled. A lymphoscintigraphy was carried out before the intervention. Intraoperative SLN identification was performed with blue dye combined to a handheld gamma probe detection. Non-sentinel pelvic nodes were separately cleared out. SLNs were examined with frozen sections, permanent sections with hematoxylin-eosin staining and further serial sections with immunohistochemistry if negative. Six cervical cancer patients and 13 endometrial cancer patients had a positive lymphoscintigraphy, showing in 5 patients extra-iliac SLN(s). The intraoperative detection was successful in 6 cervical cancer patients and 14 endometrial cancer patients. The higher detection rate was obtained with the isotopic method. Most of the SLNs were ilio-obturator. Four endometrial cancer patients had a lymphatic spread, only involving the SLN in each case. No false negative SLN has been noted. SLN biopsy appears feasible in cervical and endometrial cancers. This procedure could improve the lymphatic evaluation of these cancers.

Outcomes after combined therapy including surgical resection in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer recurrence(s) exclusively in lymph nodes.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to study the prognosis for and survival of patients treated with combined therapy (including surgical resection) for nodal recurrences from epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: This was a retrospective study of a group of 12 patients with a recurrence from EOC, a priori, exclusively located in lymph node(s). All patients underwent surgical resection of nodal metastases, followed by adjuvant therapy. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 51 (range, 42-71) years. The initial disease stages were as follows: stage IA, n = 5; stage IIA, n = 1; and stage IIIC, n = 6. The median interval between the end of initial treatment and the nodal relapse was 21 (range, 6-72) months. The recurrence was located in the abdominal nodes in 10 patients (pelvic and/or para-aortic area) and was extra-pelvic in one patient, and the last patient had concomitant para-aortic and supraclavicular nodal involvement. Ten patients received postoperative chemotherapy and two had radiation therapy (one patient received both treatments). Eight patients relapsed and four did not. To date, three patients have died of the disease, three are alive with persistent disease, and six are alive and disease-free (including two patients who were treated by surgical resection after relapses twice in abdominal nodes). Five-year overall survival from the time of treatment of recurrent disease is 71% (confidence interval, 41%-90%). CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of patients with an a priori isolated nodal recurrence from EOC was good in this group of treated with surgical resection followed by chemoradiation or radiation therapy. This finding argues in favor of proposing surgical resection in such patients.

Sono-guided endometrial biopsy: comparison with hysteroscopy biopsy. Sono-guided endometrial biopsy using the Bernard catheter had no impact on endometrial assessment by sonohysterography.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility, tolerance and diagnostic accuracy of endometrial biopsy (EB) during sonohysterography (SH) compared to EB after hysteroscopy (HSC) in endometrial disorders. METHODS: 105 consecutive patients with irregular uterine bleeding were included prospectively in the calendar year 2001. SH and flexible HSC were performed in an office setting, subsequently and in a random order, by two different practitioners blind to the former experiment. SH-EB was performed using a 3.1-mm ultrasound-guided Bernard catheter in the uterine cavity still partly distended and with a gentle 20-ml syringe vacuum aspiration. The biopsy was directed on focal lesions or else randomly when no targets had previously been found. A Cornier Pipelle was used to perform EB after HSC. We investigated all patients by biopsy, independent of the endometrial thickness. HSC-EB was the gold standard. RESULTS: For both methods, cervical catheterism was impossible in 20 patients, 75 of them successfully underwent both exams. Duration and tolerance were similar. SH was effective in the distinction between normal and pathologic cavities, as well as in the diagnosis of polyps. Endometrium appeared significantly thinner with HSC (1.8 mm) when compared to SH (2.9 mm, p < 0.05). Histological endometrial assessment failed in 30 cases of SH-EB and in 22 cases in HSC-EB (NS). There was a poor correlation of the histological results of both techniques. Hyperplasia has never been diagnosed by SH-EB, whereas 3 EB issued from HSC-EB brought up this diagnosis. CONCLUSION: SH-EB with our technique did not improve the diagnostic potential of SH and severe diagnosis was missed. Histological assessment should fail less when we exclude endometrial atrophy. The diameter of the catheter and the aspiration technique must be revised and the learning curve must be considered. Our technique cannot replace EB by HSC.

[Management of borderline ovarian tumours]. / Prise en charge des tumeurs ovariennes à la limite de la malignité.

Borderline ovarian tumours are rare and occur mostly in younger women than ovarian cancer. The improved knowledge of histologic and comportmental patterns since the last twenty years has permitted to drastically decrease the therapeutics of these tumours which remains mostly surgical. Conservative surgery is possible in young women who desire fertility sparing treatment. Chemotherapy is only indicated in more aggressive BOT: serous invasive implants and eventually pseudomyxoma peritonei. According to their low mitotic activity, a long follow-up is required to detect the potential recurrences of such tumours. These recurrences mostly occur on the same histologic patterns as initially diagnosed and are often cured by surgery only.

[Management of advanced stage ovarian cancer]. / Traitement initial des cancers épithéliaux de l'ovaire de stade avancé.

The management of advanced stage ovarian cancer was deeply modified during last years. The standard treatment of advanced stage ovarian cancer in 2004 remains the initial surgery (in order to obtain ideally a total resection of all macroscopic disease) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (6 courses of platinum based chemotherapy). But in patients with massive spread, interval debulking surgery (performed after 3 or 4 courses of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy) is becoming an interesting option (and perhaps will become a standard management). This treatment is actually studied in randomized trials.

Comparison between bisection/morcellation and myometrial coring for reducing large uteri during vaginal hysterectomy or laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy: results of a randomized prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Vaginal hysterectomy (VH) is being performed increasingly by gynecologic surgeons. Thus, enlarged uteri are more frequently removed vaginally, requiring reducing techniques to allow vaginal extraction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We designed a randomized prospective study to compare bisection-morcellation and myometrial coring. Patients scheduled for VH or laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) were offered entry into the study. Endometrial cancer was an exclusion criterion. Uterine size was not a contraindication for vaginal surgery. We compared data from preoperative workup as well as from the operative and the postoperative course. Data were recorded prospectively. Results were analyzed with nonparametric tests and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Thirty patients were included in the study. Patients were similar in both groups. No severe peroperative complication occurred in this series. Operating time was comparable in both groups. Uteri weighed more than 280 g in more than 70% of patients in both groups. Myometrial coring failed more often than bisection-morcellation (25% vs. 0%, p = 0.06). Patients and uteri characteristics had no influence on the risk of failure, except for narrow uteri, which were associated with an increased risk of failure in the myometrial coring group only (68.3 vs. 83.9 mm, p = 0.01). Postoperative courses were similar for the two techniques, except for an increased rate of fever in the myometrial coring group (28%, p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Both techniques appeared safe in this trial. Myometrial coring failed more frequently than bisection-morcellation, especially in the case of a narrow uterus. Postoperative fever was significantly more common after myometrial coring. Both techniques should be taught to resident surgeons.