Restructuring residency training in obstetrics and gynecology.

This essay presents a brief review of the history advocating a restructuring of residency training to increase the flexibility of the experience. The advantages for both the general obstetrician-gynecologist and the subspecialist are reviewed.

Signet-ring cell carcinoma of the endometrium: a primary tumor masquerading as a metastasis.

Extragenital metastases to the endometrium are unusual, but several histologic features have been suggested as highly suggestive or even pathognomonic for this diagnosis. We report an endometrial carcinoma with a prominent signet-ring cell morphology and a diffusely permeative pattern of infiltration, features that have been reported as indicating an extragenital metastasis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a signet-ring cell carcinoma of the endometrium. Gynecological pathologists should be aware of this entity because of its potential primary of metastatic signet-ring carcinoma to be endometrium.

Management of menopause.

Menopause signals a transition from the reproductive stage to the nonreproductive stage in a woman's life. Common problems that are relatively acute include hot flushes, menstrual irregularity, and atrophic changes in the vagina and the urinary tract. A variety of therapies, including hormone replacement, can be used to treat these conditions. In addition, the delayed problems of osteoporosis and arteriosclerotic coronary artery disease increase in incidence and severity after menopause. A number of lifestyle changes are beneficial in these conditions, both acutely and to retard the development of several important diseases. The use of hormone therapy and other treatments should be individualized and fully discussed with each patient. Most importantly, the additional benefits and risks of each form of treatment, plus the beneficial lifestyle changes, should also be discussed.

Menopause and hormone replacement therapy: an overview.

This article presents an overview of the health changes that women face as they traverse menopause and the years beyond. It serves to link a series of individual articles, which follow it in this journal issue and relate to specific topics in these areas important to women's health. Indications, contraindications, and risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy are reviewed in depth. Alternative therapies are discussed and the role of preventive health is stressed. It seems that the menopause can be a time of positive change for women, provided that they and their physicians understand and individualize their care. If there is a central theme to such management, it is the education and responsibility of both the patient and physician.

Gestational trophoblastic disease metastatic to the central nervous system.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate characteristics of patients with central nervous system (CNS) lesions of gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) and determine prognostic and therapeutic implications applicable to management. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 454 patients treated at the Southeastern Regional Trophoblastic Disease Center between 1966 and 1992 with at least 2 years of follow-up, and identified 42 (9.3%) with CNS metastases. Sixteen patients presented for primary therapy and 27 patients had received significant therapy prior to presentation. Three heavily treated moribund patients died before their first cycle of chemotherapy and were excluded from analysis. Brain metastases were documented by physical exam and radionuclide imaging (before 1976), computed tomography scan (after 1976), or magnetic resonance imaging (after 1986). Patients received multiagent chemotherapy with methotrexate, actinomycin D, and chlorambucil (MAC)- or etoposide-based regimens. All patients received radiation therapy. No intrathecal chemotherapy was given. Craniotomy was employed in seven cases. Remission was defined as three weekly hCG levels below assay sensitivity (< 5 mIU/ml). RESULTS: Overall survival was 44%. Twelve of 16 patients (75%) who presented with CNS metastases with no prior therapy (Group A), 5 of 13 (38%) patients who had prior treatment (Group B), and none of 10 patients who developed CNS metastases during therapy (Group C) survived (P < 0.05). Two of four patients who failed in the CNS after treatment for CNS lesions were salvaged. Demographic characteristics of Groups A and B were similar. No significant differences with respect to WHO score, interval from pregnancy to onset of disease, or age among these groups were found. Group B patients had a four-fold higher incidence of liver metastases. Survival of Group A patients was not related to conventional clinical prognostic factors. Inverse (nonsignificant) correlations were found for Group B patients between survival and WHO score, hCG level, size and number of metastatic lesions, but not type of prior therapy. Survival was higher in those with prior molar pregnancies (56%) as contrasted with aborted (50%) or term (27%) gestations. Selective use of craniotomy helped alleviate intracranial pressure and resect refractory foci. CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy in GTD patients with CNS metastases yields survival rates comparable to those reported for intrathecal methotrexate regimens. Tumor burden as indicated by hCG level and size/number of metastases in previously treated patients may correlate with survival. Patients who develop CNS metastases during active therapy have a very poor outcome.

Etoposide-platin combination therapy for chemorefractory gestational trophoblastic disease.

The purpose of this study was to determine activity of etoposide-platin combination chemotherapy for chemorefractory gestational trophoblastic disease. A retrospective review of patients treated with etoposide-platin chemotherapy for chemorefractory trophoblastic disease was conducted. Patients received etoposide 100 mg/m2 and cisplatin 20 mg/m2 on Days 1 through 5 of 14- to 21-day cycles. Patient characteristics, responses, and toxicity were recorded. Seven women received etoposide-platin for chemorefractory disease. The median WHO prognostic index score upon initiation of therapy was 16 (range, 10-20) and patients had received a median 6 cycles of prior combination chemotherapy. Five patients developed grade IV neutropenia, four developed neutropenic sepsis, and two required platelet transfusions. Two patients developed significant deterioration of renal function. Six (86%) patients had complete responses, with normalization of hCG values, but only three (43%) patients with low pretherapy hCG levels have had sustained remissions. Etoposide-platin chemotherapy is an active regimen for the treatment of women with chemorefractory gestational trophoblastic disease but has significant hematologic and renal toxicity when used as salvage therapy. Future studies should investigate the incorporation of etoposide-platin into initial therapy of women with high-risk disease.

Evaluation of prognostic factors and staging in gestational trophoblastic tumor.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors influencing survival and compare current classification systems in women treated for malignant gestational trophoblastic tumor. METHODS: A consecutive series of 454 women treated between 1968-1992 was reviewed retrospectively to identify potential clinical prognostic factors using univariate analysis of life tables. All patients were evaluated using clinical classification, World Health Organization, and recently modified International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging systems, applied retrospectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to model potential independent prognostic factors within subsets of the patient population. RESULTS: Factors identified by univariate analysis as potential prognostic influences included age, duration of disease, type of antecedent pregnancy, clinicopathologic diagnosis, site of metastases, number of metastatic sites and foci, tumor size, and prior therapy. The pre-therapy hCG level was not significantly associated with survival (P < .04). Multivariate Cox modeling consistently identified prior therapy, type of antecedent pregnancy, number of metastatic sites, and duration of disease as independent prognostic factors. Clinicopathologic diagnosis and hCG level were of borderline significance only in some models of the total patient population. All classification systems were able to identify low- and high-risk subsets of patients with approximately equal efficiency. The addition of FIGO substages enhanced discrimination between prognostic groups in patients with stage III disease. CONCLUSIONS: Existing systems for the classification of malignant gestational trophoblastic tumor are based in part on factors that are not independently prognostic, such as hCG level or tumor size. These systems discriminate between low- and high-risk patients with approximately equal efficiency. The clinical classification system is currently preferred for determining initial therapy in women with malignant gestational trophoblastic tumors.

Women's concerns with hormone replacement therapy--compliance issues.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature and attempt to define patient compliance with hormonal replacement therapy and physician prescription of these therapies. DESIGN: Review of selected literature. SETTING: Population studies and clinical trials. PATIENTS: Postmenopausal and postcastration women. INTERVENTIONS: Hormone replacement regimens. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptions and compliance by patients. RESULTS: In addition to the effective control of vasomotor hot flushes and atrophic genital changes in postmenopausal women, it is now well established that the long-term use of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogen and/or progestin offers prophylaxis against osteoporosis and cardiovascular arteriosclerotic disease, notably myocardial infarction. However, despite such documentation of benefit, it is estimated that < 20% of postmenopausal women in the United States have ever had ERT or HRT prescribed, < 40% of those for whom such treatment has been prescribed will continue it after 1 year, and that overall, > 70% of those for whom it has been prescribed are not compliant. It appears that this lack of prescription and compliance are the function of both physician and patient considerations. This paper presents reasons for such actions and reviews ways in which use can be improved.

Serum progesterone for the exclusion of early pregnancy in women at risk for recurrent gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the serum progesterone level for discriminating pregnancy from gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. METHODS: Serum progesterone levels were measured in 61 women with histories of trophoblastic disease who developed a re-elevation in hCG during surveillance and underwent a work-up to differentiate pregnancy from gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. Progesterone levels were analyzed in the context of diagnostic outcome (pregnancy versus gestational trophoblastic neoplasia) to identify optimal threshold levels of progesterone to be used for classifying outcome. RESULTS: Of the 61 women, 37 proved to be pregnant and 24 had gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. Progesterone less than 2.5 ng/mL was predictive of trophoblastic malignancy, with a sensitivity of 83% (20 of 24 subjects were classified correctly as having gestational trophoblastic neoplasia) and a specificity of 95% (35 of 37 patients with progesterone levels at or above 2.5 ng/mL were correctly classified as pregnant). Progesterone of at least 10 ng/mL was associated with viable pregnancy in 97% of the cases. Furthermore, the progesterone level predicted outcome regardless of the serum hCG value. CONCLUSION: The serum progesterone level is useful for discriminating early pregnancy from gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

Vaginal administration of low-dose conjugated estrogens: systemic absorption and effects on the endometrium.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis tha a very-low-dose regimen of vaginal estrogen would provide effective relief from atrophic vaginitis without endometrial proliferation. METHODS: Twenty postmenopausal women with symptoms, signs, and cytologic evidence of atrophic vaginitis were enrolled. Each subject was treated with 0.3 mg of conjugated estrogens, administered vaginally 3 nights per week for 6 months. We examined the following outcomes: symptoms, vaginal cellular (cytologic) maturity, endometrial histology, sonographic evaluation of endometrial thickness, Doppler measures of uterine artery blood flow, and serum levels of estrone and estradiol. Pre- and post-treatment data were compared for each subject. RESULTS: Satisfactory relief of symptoms occurred in 19 of 20 cases. Vaginal cellular maturation improved significantly with therapy (P < .01). There were no significant changes in endometrial thickness, uterine artery blood flow, or serum estrogen levels. Endometrial proliferation was observed in one case. CONCLUSIONS: Relief from atrophic vaginitis can be achieved with 0.3 mg of conjugated estrogens administered vaginally three times per week. Endometrial proliferation may occur at this low dose, albeit rarely.

5-day methotrexate for women with metastatic gestational trophoblastic disease.

The objective of this study was to analyze the toxicity and the efficacy of single-agent 5-day methotrexate for women with metastatic gestational trophoblastic disease. The study is a retrospective analysis of 52 patients who received repetitive 5-day cycles of intramuscular methotrexate as primary therapy for metastatic trophoblastic disease between 1975 and 1990. The majority of patients were low-risk by both clinical and World Health Organization prognostic index score criteria. Sixty percent achieved primary remission with a median of 3 cycles of single-agent methotrexate. Therapy was changed because of toxicity and drug-resistance by hCG criteria in 11 (21%) and 10 (19%) patients, respectively. Pretherapy hCG > 10,000 mIU/ml was associated with the development of drug-resistance. Remission was achieved in all patients, with only 2 (4%) requiring multiagent therapy. The use of repetitive 5-day cycles of methotrexate is efficacious therapy of low-risk metastatic trophoblastic disease. Future studies are needed to define a cost-effective and minimally toxic therapy that retains a high primary remission rate in these patients.

Alternating weekly chemotherapy with etoposide-methotrexate-dactinomycin/cyclophosphamide-vincristine for high-risk gestational trophoblastic disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the response rate and toxicity of alternating weekly therapy with etoposide-methotrexate-dactinomycin/cyclophosphamide-vincristine for women with high-risk gestational trophoblastic disease. METHODS: Twenty-two women with gestational trophoblastic disease received 126 cycles of the study regimen. Response was evaluated by serial hCG monitoring. Toxicity was assessed using standard criteria. RESULTS: Six women (27%) were treated for primary therapy and 16 (73%) for secondary therapy. The median prognostic index score was 11 (range 7-19). Only 23% of the patients and 11% of the 126 treatment cycles had grade 4 neutropenia, despite the heavily pretreated patient population. Only 2% of the cycles were associated with neutropenic sepsis or required platelet transfusions. Nonhematologic toxicity was modest. Among 16 women who received chemotherapy alone, there were 11 (69%) complete and three (19%) partial responses. When adjuvant therapies are included, the overall complete and partial response rates were 77 and 14%, respectively. Six (35%) of 17 complete responders developed recurrences. Five patients with partial response or relapse were salvaged with additional therapy. Fifteen of the 22 patients (68%) have sustained remissions. CONCLUSION: The regimen of alternating weekly etoposide-methotrexate-dactinomycin/cyclophosphamide-vincristine is effective and well-tolerated chemotherapy for patients with high-risk gestational trophoblastic disease.

Acute childbirth morbidity: its measurement using hospital charges.

OBJECTIVES: An analytic descriptive analysis of acute childbirth morbidity was carried out at Duke University Medical Center, comparing patients delivered by primary cesarean section with those delivered vaginally. STUDY DESIGN: All primary cesarean deliveries and vaginal deliveries from July 1, 1981, through June 30, 1986, were combined with maternal and infant charge data. A total of 7256 patients were analyzed. A description of the charges for the associated diagnoses was carried out. A morbidity index was used to identify differences in predicted median hospital charges with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The ratio of mean primary cesarean delivery to mean vaginal delivery total charges was 2.5:1. The magnitude of the mean hospital charges was inversely related to the frequency of the indication with the lowest charges associated with dystocia and the highest with multiple pregnancy. Antepartum risk factors (increased maternal age, patient referral) were associated with increases in maternal and infant morbidity as measured by the morbidity index. Chronic maternal hypertension resulted in decreased maternal morbidity but increased infant morbidity when primary cesarean delivery was used. Although preterm delivery was associated with large increases in charges, it was not significantly altered by using primary cesarean delivery. Risk factors associated with the management of abnormalities of labor were associated with decreases in maternal and infant morbidity when primary cesarean delivery was used. CONCLUSION: Analysis of acute childbirth morbidity, as measured by hospital charges, showed marked variation of diagnosis and risk-specific charges for patients delivered by primary cesarean section.