Unexpected long-term survival without evidence of disease after salvage chemotherapy for recurrent metastatic cervical cancer: a case series.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of recurrent metastatic cervical cancer is extremely poor. Platinum-based palliative chemotherapy constitutes the mainstay of treatment. Cure is extremely rare. CASE: We present 3 cases of recurrent metastatic cervical cancer in which the patients remain disease-free many years after completing salvage chemotherapy and surgery. The patients remain with no evidence of disease at 6, 7, and 13 years, respectively, following recurrence. CONCLUSION: In rare cases, an unexpected complete clinical remission and long-term survival without evidence of disease may be achieved in patients with recurrent metastatic cervical cancer treated with multimodal therapy.

Laparoscopic and hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy for recurrent and persistent ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Prolonged survival in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer isolated to the spleen has been demonstrated after successful splenectomy. The purpose of this study was to report the outcomes of a series of patients who underwent splenectomy for persistent or recurrent ovarian cancer via laparoscopy or hand-assisted laparoscopy. METHODS: We reviewed the charts of all patients who underwent laparoscopic or hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy for presumed persistent or recurrent ovarian cancer. Demographic, clinical, pathologic, and follow-up information was abstracted. RESULTS: Six patients underwent laparoscopy or hand-assisted laparoscopy for presumed ovarian cancer involving the spleen. In 5 of the 6 cases, laparoscopic or hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy was successfully performed. For the 5 laparoscopic cases, operative times varied from 155 to 315 min, and estimated blood loss ranged from 50 to 300 ml. There were no perioperative mortalities or significant complications. Hospitalization lasted from 3 to 5 days. Four patients are alive with no evidence of disease at 2-84 months from the splenectomy, while 1 patient died of disease 20 months after the procedure. The sixth patient underwent initial hand-assisted laparoscopy, and the case was immediately converted to laparotomy for resection of peritoneal carcinomatosis. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic and hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomies are safe and feasible in the management of patients with presumed persistent or recurrent ovarian cancer. Larger studies are necessary and eagerly awaited to help determine the long-term risks and benefits as well as the most appropriate candidates and selection criteria.