Expansile Endocervical Crypt Involvement by CIN2 - 3 as a Risk Factor for High Grade Cytology Recurrence After Cold Coagulation Cervical Treatment

Endocervical crypt involvement by high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and its association with high-grade histopathological recurrence after cervical excision in women with negative excision margins: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that endocervical crypt involvement by high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) may represent a risk factor for disease recurrence after cervical treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To provide a systematic review and meta-analysis on whether endocervical crypt involvement by high-grade CIN on the excised cervical specimen is associated with high-grade histopathological recurrence during the follow-up of women after cervical excisional treatment.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We searched the Medline, Scopus, Central, and Clinical Trials.gov databases from inception till May 2023.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Studies that reported on women with a single cervical treatment with any method of excision for CIN2 or CIN3 lesion, negative excision margins, and whose recurrence was defined histopathologically were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two reviewers independently evaluated study eligibility. We used the fixed effects model for meta-analysis.

MAIN RESULTS

There were 4 eligible studies included in the present systematic review that evaluated 1088 women treated with either large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) or with cold knife conization (CKC). We found no significant association of endocervical crypt involvement by CIN2-3 with high-grade histopathological recurrence at follow-up after cervical excision (OR 1.93; 95% CI 0.51-3.35). The subgroup analysis of women with LLETZ cervical excision showed again no significant association with high-grade histopathological recurrence at follow-up (OR 2.00; 95% CI 0.26-3.74).

CONCLUSION

Endocervical crypt involvement by high-grade CIN does not seem to be a risk factor for high-grade histopathological recurrence after cervical excision with negative excision margins.

Is Endocervical Glandular Involvement Related to The Depth of Cone Biopsy?

Introduction. This study aimed to determine whether endocervical glandular involvement by squamous intraepithelial lesion would differ with respect to the depth of the excised specimen and analyze the related factors that may define endocervical glandular involvement among cases treated with cone biopsy. Methods. Between April 2016 and December 2018, women who underwent colposcopy and excisional procedures in the department of gynecologic oncology were retrospectively investigated. Patients with multiple specimens, or whose specimen depths were not measured, and a negative/unknown HPV status were excluded from the study. Also, patients with no dysplasia or microinvasive/invasive cancer in the final pathology report and those who had not undergone endocervical curettage during colposcopy were excluded. HPV genotypes, degree of dysplasia, surgical margin status, and specimen depth were documented from medical records. Further, the association of these factors with endocervical glandular involvement was evaluated. Results: A total of 321 patients who fulfilled the criteria were included in the study, with a mean age of 41.9 years. In total, 101 patients (31.5%) had endocervical glandular involvement. The mean excised specimen depth was 17.04 mm; 17.9 and 16.7 mm for the positive and negative glandular involvement groups, respectively (p = .13). The mean ages were 42.7 and 41.6 years for these groups, respectively (p = .32). There was no association between the HPV genotypes and glandular involvement. Conclusions: Endocervical glandular involvement is not associated with the depth of the excised specimen. A deeper cone biopsy may not necessarily enable a more effective treatment of the disease.

Thermal Ablation of High-Grade Premalignant Disease of the Cervix-Standing the Test of Time: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE

Analyze long-term (20 years) cytology and histology outcomes after treatment of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (HGCIN) with thermal ablation (TA).

METHODS

All women having TA for HGCIN between January 1996 and December 1998 (36 months; N = 885) were identified; data were collected on age of patients, symptoms, colposcopy findings, and biopsy reports. Local and national (cytology and colposcopy) databases and colposcopy records were used to collect long-term follow-up data. Probability of CIN recurrence was assessed using Kaplan-Meier "survival" curve.

RESULTS

Follow-up data (available for 796) was collected in 2018 capturing 20 years of follow-up data. Two hundred eighty-one women were treated for CIN 2 and 515 women for CIN 3. Seven hundred ninety-one of 796 (>99%) were treated at first visit. Two hundred sixty two of 796 (33%) had evidence of crypt involvement on pretreatment biopsy. Probability of having consistently normal cytological follow-up was 92%, 89%, 86%, and 83% at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years, respectively. Cumulative probability of having recurrent HGCIN was 0.5% at 5 years, 1% at 10 years, 1.9% at 15 years, and 3% at 18 years. There was 1 invasive squamous cell cancer at 11 years after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Thermal ablation is a safe and effective treatment for HGCIN, which is now shown to have stood the test of time. We advise more widespread adoption in the United Kingdom and globally so long as agreed criteria are met.