Successful One-Stage Radical Removal of Intravenous Leiomyomatosis Extending to the Right Ventricle

Clinical features and prognostic factors analysis of intravenous leiomyomatosis

Background

The treatment and prognostic factors of intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) remain lacking systematic evidence.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted on IVL patients from the Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, and IVL cases were published in PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Descriptive statistics were used for the basic characteristics of patients. The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the high-risk factors related to the progression-free survival (PFS). The comparison of survival curves was performed by Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results

A total of 361 IVL patients were included in this study, 38 patients from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, and 323 patients from the published literature. Age ≤45 years was observed in 173 (47.9%) patients. According to the clinical staging criteria, stage I/II was observed in 125 (34.6%) patients, and stage III/IV was observed in 221 (61.2%) patients. Dyspnea, orthopnea, and cough were observed in 108 (29.9%) patients. Completed tumor resection was observed in 216 (59.8%) patients, and uncompleted tumor resection was observed in 58 (16.1%) patients. Median follow-up period was 12 months (range 0-194 months), and 68 (18.8%) recurrences or deaths were identified. The adjusted multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis showed age ≤45 years (vs. >45) (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-3.80, p = 0.016), and uncompleted tumor resection (vs. completed tumor resection) (HR = 22.03, 95% CI 8.31-58.36, p < 0.001) were high-risk factors related to the PFS.

Conclusion

Patients with IVL have a high probability of recurrence after surgery and a poor prognosis. Patients younger than 45 years and with uncompleted tumor resection are at higher risk of postoperative recurrence or death.

The role of estrogen deprivation therapy in premenopausal women with primary unresectable intracardiac leiomyomatosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Intracardiac leiomyomatosis (ICLM) is a rare life-threatening form of intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVLM). The incomplete resection and recurrence are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study is to identify that whether estrogen deprivation therapies, including bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO)-based surgery and gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) administration, could bring benefits to patients with primary unresectable ICLM.

METHODS

PubMed/MEDLINE (Ovid) was searched (up to May 2021) for studies reporting individual patient data on demographics, clinicopathological features, treatment, and follow-up information. Exclusion criteria were patients who may have been included in two or more publications. This study was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

RESULTS

A total of 114 patients from 70 papers were included. Several reports showed that the tumor in the right atrium and inferior vena cava shrank dramatically after BSO-based surgery, or GnRHa administrated preoperatively in premenopausal women. The rate of complete resection was 64.04% in patients with ICLM, which was 85.25% in no/slight adhesion and no pulmonary nodules group, while 22.22% in firm/extensive adhesion and/or pulmonary nodules group (p < 0.0001). Meanwhile, the recurrence rates in patients with complete resection and incomplete resection were 4.29% and 37.84% respectively (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, complete resection with BSO had the lowest recurrence rate of 3.13%, incomplete resection with BSO had a progression rate of 45.45%, while incomplete resection with ovarian preservation had the highest progression rate of 75.00%.

CONCLUSIONS

The recurrence rate of ICLM was closely related to firm/extensive adhesion in IVC or above, and/or pulmonary nodules. BSO-based surgery might reduce the recurrence rate no matter ICLM could be completely resected or not. In addition, estrogen deprivation therapies could decrease tumor burden as a primary treatment, and further make a secondary complete resection feasible in premenopausal women with initially unresectable ICLM.

Surgical treatment for intravenous-cardiac leiomyomatosis

OBJECTIVES

There are few published studies on the rare disorder of intravenous-cardiac leiomyomatosis (IVCL). This study aimed to propose an individualized strategy for surgical treatment of IVCL.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, we reviewed 50 patients who had undergone IVCL removal from November 2002 to October 2017 in our hospital. IVCL was classified as Type A-E according to the extent and size, with Type E being the most severe. Clinical manifestations, surgical features and follow-up data were analysed.

RESULTS

Of the 50 patients in this series, 8 had Type A IVCL, 8 Type B, 29 Type C, 2 Type D and 3 Type E IVCL. One-stage removal of IVCL was performed via laparotomy without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in the 8 patients with Type A, 1-stage tumour resection via sternolaparotomy under deep hypothermic arrest in 7 of the 8 patients with Type B and IVCL removal via sternolaparotomy under CPB, with 27 also under deep hypothermic arrest, in all 29 patients with Type C. Sixteen of the patients with Type C IVCL underwent staged procedures, 13 a 1-stage procedure and 21 required hepatic mobilization. All patients with Type C or E cases underwent 1-stage tumour removal via sternolaparotomy under deep hypothermic arrest. All 50 patients survived surgery. IVCL was confirmed postoperatively by histology. Ten patients had residual tumours; 9 of which did not progress. No deaths occurred during 47.8 ± 38.4 (range 1-177) months of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

The only known curative treatment for IVCL is surgery. Herein, we present an individualized strategy for selecting surgical treatment.

Intravenous leiomyomatosis with intracardiac extension - a review of diagnosis and management with an illustrative case

Intravenous leiomyomatosis with intracardiac extension is an uncommon pathologic progression of uterine leiomyomata. It is a histologically benign condition, however due to interfence with right sided cardiac function patients may present with marked cardiovascular compromise and present a diagnostic dilemma to clinicians who are unfamiliar with this condition. Given the rarity of this condition, experience in individual institutions is usually limited to a few cases. We present an illustrative case and provide a review of the clinical presentation, preoperative assessment, operative approach, pathology and postoperative issues. The importance of a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and management is highlighted. Operative management aims to completely resect all tumour in the safest manner for the patient, most commonly via single or two stage operation. Where complete resection is achieved, recurrence appears to be a rare event.

Pulmonary artery embolization of intravenous leiomyomatosis extending into the right atrium

A 43-year-old woman was diagnosed with an intravenous leiomyomatosis at a previous hospital and transferred to our hospital to undergo surgical treatment. Emergency one-stage operation for coincidental removal of intra-abdominal, right atrial, and intravenous masses were planned. Upon arriving at the operating room, she suffered a sudden onset of severe dyspnea and showed hemodynamic instability. Intraoperative TEE showed pulmonary embolization of a right atrial mass. Removal of the pulmonary artery mass and the intra-abdominal mass, and the cardiopulmonary bypass were performed without any complications.

Pulmonary artery embolization of intravenous leiomyomatosis extending into the right atrium

A 43-year-old woman was diagnosed with an intravenous leiomyomatosis at a previous hospital and transferred to our hospital to undergo surgical treatment. Emergency one-stage operation for coincidental removal of intra-abdominal, right atrial, and intravenous masses were planned. Upon arriving at the operating room, she suffered a sudden onset of severe dyspnea and showed hemodynamic instability. Intraoperative TEE showed pulmonary embolization of a right atrial mass. Removal of the pulmonary artery mass and the intra-abdominal mass, and the cardiopulmonary bypass were performed without any complications.

Cardiopulmonary bypass as an adjunct for the noncardiac surgeon

The use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in noncardiac surgical settings has been increasingly developed and has greatly benefited noncardiac surgeon. A few years after the advent of CPB as well as profound hypothermic circulatory arrest in the early years, it was employed by neurosurgeons in cerebrovascular surgery and by general thoracic surgeons in carinal tumor resection. Indications for CPB were extended and modified year after year. It has facilitated not only the surgical management by surgeons of lesions that cannot be managed safely and effectively by conventional techniques, or conventional techniques carry significant risks to the patient, but also the preservation of the viability of multiple organ procurement, the practice of isolated limb perfusion for the treatment of malignancies of the extremities, and emergent cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Owing to the complications arising from CPB and profound hypothermic circulatory arrest, such as postoperative bleeding, coagulopathy, and neurologic deficits, efforts have been made to avoid these common hazards. Thus, innovative techniques including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, percutaneous cardiopulmonary support, venovenous bypass, normothermic CPB, and minimally invasive approaches have emerged and played an important role as alternatives of standard CPB in decreasing morbidity and mortality and improving survival.

[Uterine intravenous leiomyomatosis. A case report]

Uterine intravenous leiomyomatosis is a rare benign tumor. We report the case of a 41-year-old woman, with no history, who presented an abdominopelvic mass arising from the uterus. Histological examination revealed uterine intravenous leiomyomatosis. The specificity of this tumor is hormonodependency and potential vascular extension.