The Safety of Chemotherapy for Ovarian Malignancy during Pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Data on epidemiologic features, treatments and outcomes in women diagnosed with ovarian malignancy during pregnancy are very sparse due to its low incidence. The goal of our study was to summarize the epidemiologic characteristics of pregnant women complicated with ovarian malignancy and investigate the safety and efficacy of chemotherapy during pregnancy.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of eight patients suffering from ovarian malignancy during pregnancy in our institution from June 2011 to July 2021. Furthermore, a systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed up to 1 September 2021, which identified 92 cases with ovarian malignancy during pregnancy eligible for the analysis. Therefore, we collected the data of 100 pregnant patients complicated with ovarian malignancy, including clinical demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment interventions and outcomes.

RESULTS

In total, 100 pregnant patients complicated with ovarian malignancy were investigated and classified into three groups: 34 cases in the epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) group, 38 cases in the germ cell tumors (GCTs) group and 28 cases in the sex cord-stromal tumors (SCSTs) group. The onset age of pregnant patients with epithelial ovarian cancer was significantly higher than that of other patients. Pelvic mass and abdominal pain were the common clinical presentations of pregnant patients with ovarian malignancy. For distinguishing epithelial ovarian cancer during pregnancy, the area under the curve (AUC) of CA-125 was 0.718 with an optimal cutoff value of 58.2 U/mL. Moreover, 53 patients underwent surgery during pregnancy, the majority of whom underwent unilateral adnexectomy in the second trimester. Furthermore, 43 patients received chemotherapy during pregnancy, and 28 delivered completely healthy newborns at birth; 13 neonates showed transient abnormalities without further complications; and 2 died during the neonatal period.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study reveals the safety of chemotherapy for ovarian malignancy during pregnancy. However, large-sample prospective studies are still needed to further explore the safety of chemotherapy in pregnant patients with malignancy to choose the appropriate chemotherapy regimen and achieve the maximum benefit for patients.

Efficacy and Safety of Platinum-Based Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction

Based on the available data on ovarian cancer during pregnancy, we performed a review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of platinum-based chemotherapy against ovarian cancer during pregnancy.

Methods

We systematically searched three databases including the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for articles published from January 1986 to December 2020 using the following terms: “ovarian tumors OR ovarian carcinoma OR adnexal masses OR ovarian cancer” AND “pregnancy” AND “chemotherapy.” Two authors (Yaping Pei and Yuanfeng Gou) independently searched the literature and extracted data from each eligible study. The outcome measures were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The OS and PFS of all patients were estimated by Kaplan–Meier survival curves and log-rank tests.

Results

A total of 43 studies including 55 cases of ovarian cancer during pregnancy were selected. Forty-eight patients were comprehensively staged using the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system. Twenty-six of the 48 patients (54.17%) were diagnosed with early-stage disease, while the remaining had advanced stages (II, III, and IV). The mean age at diagnosis was 29.31 years. The majority of patients in this meta-analysis were diagnosed at a mean gestational age of 16.05 weeks. The mean GA at chemotherapy administration was 17.42 weeks. Overall, 55 women gave birth to 56 newborns, including a pair of twins. At the end of follow-up (median 10 months, range 0–73 months), all the children were healthy, except for one child who died 5 days after delivery due to a congenital abnormality. During 2–204 months of follow-up, there were five cases of recurrence, with no evidence of recurrence in the remaining cases. Unfortunately, one patient died 29 months after diagnosis. Neither median overall survival nor median progression-free survival was obtained.

Conclusion

Platinum-based chemotherapy may be a good choice for pregnant women with ovarian cancer who want to continue their pregnancy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40487-021-00179-9.

Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer during pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case reports and series

AIM

This study aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients in pregnancy.

METHODS

In this study, eligible studies were searched on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases up to December 31, 2020. Data were calculated and presented by frequency and percentage, mean ± standard deviation (SD), and median (range), respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to estimate overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

Finally, 34 studies including 40 ovarian cancer cases receiving chemotherapy during pregnancy were included. All 40 patients received chemotherapy during pregnancy. During the follow-up, seven of 37 (18.9%) women had a relapse and four of them (4/7, 57.1%) died of recurrence. Survival analysis failed to reach median OS and PFS within the follow-up (range 3-72 months). Better OS and PFS after chemotherapy in pregnancy were obtained in women with early-stage ovarian cancer (I) compared with those with advanced stage (III-IV). Neither OS nor FS differed between women treated with multi-drugs and those with monotherapy. Forty-one newborns were delivered from 40 pregnant women. Thirty-four (34/41, 82.9%) were completely healthy at birth and the end of follow-up (range 0.18-160 months). However, one newborn died 5 days after birth due to multiple congenital malformations, and another one developed Tourette's syndrome, aphasia, Asperger's syndrome as well as speech delay.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis first reveals the efficacy and safety of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer during pregnancy, especially for early-stage patients. Cisplatin or carboplatin is suggested to be used as monotherapy to reduce adverse effects.

Nonobstetrical Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery in Pregnancy: A Systematic Literature Review

Urologic and gynecologic surgeons are the top utilizers of robotic surgery; however, nonobstetrical robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) in pregnant patients is infrequent. A systematic literature review was performed to ascertain the frequency, indication and complications of RALS in pregnancy. Results showed 38 pregnancies from eleven publications between 2008 and 2020. Five cases were for urologic indication and 33 for gynecologic indication. Minimal surgical alterations were required. Although no adverse maternal-fetal outcomes were reported, there are not enough cases published to determine safety. This review demonstrates the feasibility of RALS for the pregnant population in the hands of competent robotic surgeons.

Blueberries inhibit cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 activity in human epithelial ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the sixth and eighth leading cause of cancer mortality among women in developed and developing countries, respectively. Medical therapy is the main method for the treatment of OC. However, drug toxicity and the marked side effects of chemotherapy limit the usage and therapeutic results of the treatments. Therefore, the identification of multi-target agents with few side effects and high effectiveness is required. Traditional Chinese medicine has been used clinically to treat various types of cancer for thousands of years and is considered to possess multiple components and agents, which exert efficient therapeutic functions with few side effects. Although blueberries have previously been used to treat various types of cancer, the effect on OC and precise molecular mechanism of function of the fruit remains unknown. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 have been reported to be the biomarkers of OC. Blueberries may affect the progression of OC by affecting COX levels. To investigate the issue, COX-1 and COX-2 were overexpressed or silenced in ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells. The effect of blueberries on SKOV3 cell viability was determined by an MTT assay. Furthermore, a mouse model for OC was established. The results indicated that blueberries inhibited the proliferation of OC cells by downregulating the levels of COX-1 and COX-2. Blueberry (400 mg daily) consumption reduced tumor size significantly in mice with OC compared with the control without blueberry treatment (P<0.05). The results suggest that blueberries should be used to develop a potential non-pharmaceutical therapy for OC.