A Retrospective Study of Complications Following Pelvic and Para-Aortic Lymphadenectomy in Gynecologic Oncology.

Background: Lymphadenectomy plays an essential role in the staging protocols for gynecologic cancers, as recommended by International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). While its benefits vary, complications may arise during intra-operative, acute post-operative, or long-term periods. Notably, lymphadenectomy-associated systemic morbidity and specific complications such as lymphocele and lymphedema have been reported. Methods: This retrospective study involved 399 patients with cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers who underwent pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. The follow-up period was at least 3 months. Intra-operative complications encompassed adjacent organ injury and significant blood loss, while acute post-operative complications occurred within 29 days. Post-30-day complications included lymphocele and lymphedema. Logistic regression analysis identified predictors for complications. Results: The overall complication rate was 42.4%, with intra-operative, acute post-operative, and long-term rates of 26.1%, 11.0%, and 14.0%, respectively. Predictors for overall complications included laparotomy, positive lymph nodes, and operative time > 240 min. For intra-operative complications, age > 60 years, laparotomy, positive lymph nodes, and operative time > 240 min were significant predictors. Symptomatic lymphocele and lymphedema occurred in 6.0% and 2.0% of patients, respectively, mainly in the long-term period. Conclusion: Although the overall complication rate after gynecologic surgery was found to be almost half of all cases, the rate of severe complications was low. Additionally, the rates of symptomatic lymphocele and lymphedema were low. Lymphadenectomy in gynecologic cancer surgery can be performed safely.

Rapid and ultrasensitive detection of circulating human papillomavirus E7 cell-free DNA as a cervical cancer biomarker.

Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has attracted attention as a non-invasive biomarker for diagnosing and monitoring various cancers. Given that human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA integration and overexpression of E6/E7 oncogenes are pivotal events for carcinogenesis, we sought to determine if HPV E7 cfDNA could serve as a specific biomarker for cervical cancer detection. We applied droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to quantify HPV16/18 E7 cfDNA from the serum of patients with cervical cancer, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, and controls. HPV16/18 E7 cfDNA was highly specific for cervical cancer, displaying 30.77% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and an area under the curve of 0.65. Furthermore, we developed a sensitive isothermal detection of HPV16/18 E7 and the PIK3CA WT reference gene based on recombinase polymerase amplification combined with a lateral flow strip (RPA-LF). The assay took less than 30 min and the detection limit was 5-10 copies. RPA-LF exhibited 100% sensitivity and 88.24% specificity towards HPV16/18 E7 cfDNA in clinical samples. The agreement between RPA-LF and ddPCR was 83.33% (κ = 0.67) for HPV16 E7 and 100% (κ = 1.0) for HPV18 E7, indicating a good correlation between both tests. Therefore, we conclude that HPV E7 cfDNA represents a potential tumor marker with excellent specificity and moderate sensitivity for minimally invasive cervical cancer monitoring. Moreover, the RPA-LF assay provides an affordable, rapid, and ultrasensitive tool for detecting HPV cfDNA in resource-limited settings.

Comparison between laparoscopic and robotic surgery for sentinel lymph node mapping in endometrial cancer using indocyanine green and near infra-red fluorescence imaging.

Indocyanine green (ICG) and near infra-red fluorescence imaging in minimally invasive surgery is an option to map sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of SLN mapping between laparoscopic and robotic surgery. One-hundred-and-forty women with histologically confirmed endometrial cancer, were treated with a minimally invasive hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and SLN mapping. After anaesthetic induction, ICG was superficially injected into cervical submucosa and deeply injected into the cervical stroma at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions (1.25 mg/site). Eleven cases were abandoned after ICG injection (laparoscopic surgery seven cases and robotic surgery four cases) because of obesity, technical difficulty and peritoneal disease. One-hundred-and-eleven patients were analysed. Seventy-six patients had a laparoscopic procedure and 33 patients had robotic surgery. The overall and bilateral detection rates were 97% and 83% for laparoscopic surgery and 88% and 73% for robotic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery was superior to robotic surgery in terms of overall detection (p-value .046). There was no significant difference in the intra-operative SLN identification time or SLN dissection time between laparoscopy and robotic surgery (p-value .247 and .145, respectively). Further research is required to compare laparoscopy and robotic surgery in terms of SLN detection.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping aims to avoid complications and provide useful staging information for endometrial cancer. ICG has been shown to improve the detection rate and NPV compared with other tracers (blue dye and technetium 99). No data exists comparing SLN mapping rates using ICG in laparoscopy and robotic surgery.What do the results of this study add? The overall and bilateral detection rates were 97% and 83% for laparoscopic surgery and 88% and 73% for robotic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery was superior to robotic surgery in terms of overall detection. There was no significant difference in the intra-operative SLN identification time or SLN dissection time between laparoscopy and robotic surgery.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research?: This study confirms that laparoscopy and robotic surgery are not different in terms of bilateral detection rate and SLN operating time; the study population is small.

The residual blood from segmental umbilical cord milking in preterm delivery.

Umbilical cord milking is an alternative procedure providing blood to infants but there is no study in the proper length of umbilical cord and various gestational age. The aim of this study was to measure the blood volume in the umbilical cord of preterm infants at a certain length and to identify the correlation among blood volume, length, and circumference of umbilical cord, gestational age (GA), birth weight and placenta. Seventy-five pregnant women aged 18 years old and above with 24-36+6 weeks of gestation were included in this cross-sectional study. After delivery, a 15 to 45 cm of umbilical cord was cut and parameters of umbilical cord were recorded. The mean GA at birth was 241.84 ± 20.06 days. The mean length, diameter, and circumference were 23.31 ± 7.66, 1.10 ± 0.18, and 3.56 ± 0.75 cm, respectively. The mean residual blood volume was 11.58 ± 4.99 mL or 0.50 ± 0.18 mL/cm. Total residual blood volume had a significant positive strong correlation with umbilical cord length (r = 0.720, p < .001). To reduce complications from blood overload, the appropriate blood volume for preterm infant should be calculated from birth weight and umbilical cord length.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? The World Health Organisation recommends delayed cord clamping for newborn infants which neonatal resuscitation was not indicated but the majority of preterm infants needed resuscitation. Umbilical cord milking is an alternative procedure providing blood to infants. A small volume transfusion (10-20 m/kg) is commonly used for replacement in preterm neonates. Although there is a concern about the blood volume transferred into infants, blood volume and proper length of umbilical cord have not been thoroughly investigated.What do the results of this study add? In this study, the mean residual blood volume was 0.5 mL/cm and total residual blood volume had a significant positive strong correlation with umbilical cord length. In subgroup of very low birth weight group, the mean residual blood volume was 0.41 mL/cm; however, there was no statistically significant difference from other birth weight groups.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The appropriate length of umbilical cord for milking can be calculated from the estimated foetal weight and the mean residual blood volume per length (0.5 mL/cm); nevertheless, the calculation should be used with caution. The further study should investigate in extremely preterm or very low birth weight infants.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Abnormal Cervical Cytology and HighRisk HPV DNA among Bangkok Metropolitan Women.

BACKGROUND: Many strategies are required for cervical cancer reduction e.g. provision of education cautious sexual behavior, HPV vaccination, and early detection of preinvasive cervical lesions and invasive cancer. Basic health data for cervical cytology/ HPV DNA and associated factors are important to make an appropriate policy to fight against cervical cancer. AIMS: To assess the prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology and/or HPV DNA and associated factors, including sexual behavior, among Bangkok Metropolitan women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thai women, aged 25to65 years old, had lived in Bangkok for ≥5 years were invited into the study. Liquidbased cervical cytology and HPV DNA tests were performed. Personal data were collected. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Rates of abnormal cytology and/ or highrisk HPV (HRHPV) and factors associated with abnormal test(s) were studied. RESULTS: Abnormal cytology and positive HRHPV were found in 6.3% (279/4442 women) and 6.7% (295/4428), respectively. The most common abnormal cytology was ASCUS (3.5%) while the most common HRHPV genotype was HPV 16 (1.4%) followed by HPV 52 (1.0%), HPV 58 (0.9%), and HPV 18 and HPV 51 at equal frequency (0.7%). Both tests were abnormal in 1.6% (71/4428 women). Rates of HRHPV detection were directly associated with severity of abnormal cytology: 5.4% among normal cytology and 13.0%, 30.8%, 40.0%, 39.5%, 56.3% and 100.0% among ASCUS, ASCH, AGCNOS, LSIL, HSIL, and SCC, respectively. Some 5% of women who had no HRHPV had abnormal cytology, in which 0.3% had ≥ HSIL. Factors associated with abnormal cytology or HRHPV were: age ≤40 years, education lower than (for cytology) or higher than bachelor for HRHPV), history of sexual intercourse, and sexual partners ≥2. CONCLUSIONS: Rates for abnormal cytology and HRHPV detection were 6.3% and 6.7% HRHPV detection was directly associated with severity of abnormal cytology. Significant associated factors were age ≤40 years, lower education, history of sexual intercourse, and sexual partners ≥2.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Bangkok Metropolitan Women towards HPV and Self-Sampled HPV Testing.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate knowledge of Bangkok women regarding HPV and self-sampled HPV testing, and their attitudes towards testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thai women who had lived in Bangkok for more than 5 years, aged 25-to-65 years old, were invited to join the study. Participating women were asked to a complete self-questionnaire (Thai language), with literate assistance as needed. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts: (I) demographic data, (II) knowledge and (III) attitudes towards self-sampled HPV testing. Before proceeding to Part III of the questionnaire, a 15-minute educational video of self-sampled HPV testing was presented to all participants. RESULTS: Among 2,810 women who answered the questionnaires, 33.7% reported that they did not know about HPV. The characteristic features of these women were older age (>50 years), lower income (<600 USD/month), unemployed status, and non-attendees at cervical cancer screening. Only small numbers of women (4.6%) responded that they had heard about self-sampled HPV testing. After having information, 59.6% would not use the self-sampled HPV testing as a method of cervical cancer screening (non-acceptance). Factors significantly associated with the non-acceptance were older age, lower income, having no knowledge about HPV or self-collected HPV testing, a perception that the testing was unreliable and a concern that they might not be able to perform it correctly. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half and almost all Bangkok women did not know about HPV and self-sampled HPV testing, respectively. Approximately 60% of Bangkok women refused to do the self-sampled HPV testing. Significant negative attitudes were concerns that the testing would be unreliable and a lack of confidence to perform the procedure correctly. Education about HPV and self-sampled HPV testing, ease of the procedure, or the testing models may increase rate of acceptability or positive attitudes.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior of Bangkok Metropolitan Women Regarding Cervical Cancer Screening.

PURPOSE: To assess knowledge, attitudes and cervical cancer screening behavior of Bangkok Metropolitan women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thai women, aged 25-to-65 years old, having lived in Bangkok for 5 years or more were invited to participate in the study. After signing informed consent, all women were asked to complete a self-questionnaire (Thai language) with literate assistance if needed. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts: (I) demographic data; (II) knowledge about cervical cancer screening; and (III) behavior and attitudes, towards cervical cancer screening. Adequate screening was defined as women who had ≥two cervical cancer screening tests except women aged 25-30 years who may have only one screening, and the last screen was within 5 year or had had regular screening. RESULTS: Of 4,339 women, there were 1,857 (42.8%) with adequate screening and 2,482 (57.2%) with inadequate screening. Significant factors associated with inadequate screening included age < 45 years, pre-menopausal status, family monthly income <625 USD, no reported sexual intercourse, nulliparous, no knowledge, lack of awareness and poor attitudes. Three major reasons provided by women for inadequate screening were no symptoms (54.4%), fear of pain (33.2%), and embarrassment (34.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Personal features, knowledge, and attitudes influence screening behavior of Bangkok Metropolitan women. The three most common reasons of women for not undergoinging screening are no symptoms, fear of pain, and embarrassment. These factors should be the focus of attention to improve coverage of cervical cancer screening in Bangkok.