Development and validation of a surgical-pathologic staging and scoring system for cervical cancer

Validation of the 2018 FIGO Staging System for Predicting the Prognosis of Patients With Stage IIIC Cervical Cancer

Background

Risk stratification of patients with cervical cancer accompanied by positive lymph nodes (stage IIIC) (the 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics [FIGO] new staging system) yields a clinically heterogeneous group. In this study, we investigated the prognostic performance of the 2018 FIGO staging system for stage IIIC cervical cancer.

Methods

The study included patients with stage III cervical cancer based on the 2018 FIGO staging system, who visited Chongqing University Cancer Hospital between January 2011 and December 2014. Kaplan-Meier curves were generated to evaluate overall survival (OS), which was compared using the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used for multivariable analysis.

Results

A total of 418 patients were eligible for analysis. The 5-year OS was 54.1% for stage IIIC1, 43.3% for stage IIIA, 40.6% for stage IIIB, and 23.1% for stage IIIC2 (P < .001). Multivariable analysis revealed that compared with stages IIIA (hazard ratio [HR] 1.432, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.867-2.366, P = .161) and IIIB (HR 1.261, 95% CI 0.871-1.827, P = .219), stage IIIC1 cancer was not significantly associated with an increased mortality risk. Stage IIIC2 was independently associated with an increased mortality risk compared with stages IIIA (HR 2.958, 95% CI 1.757-4.983, P < .001) and IIIB (HR 2.606, 95% CI 1.752-3.877, P < .001). We stratified patients with stage IIIC1 based on the T stage. The 5-year OS was significantly longer in patients with stage IIIC1 (T1) than in those with stage IIIA (P = .004) or IIIB (P < .001). Analysis of multiple factors revealed that the mortality risk was 2.75-fold higher in patients with stage IIIC1pN>2 than in patients with stage IIIC1pN1-2 (HR 2.753, 95% CI 1.527-4.965, P = .001).

Conclusions

Patients with stage IIIC1 cervical cancer showed heterogeneous clinical characteristics that reflected variable prognoses, depending on the T stage and the extent of pelvic lymph node metastases.

Adjuvant chemotherapy versus adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy after radical surgery for early-stage cervical cancer: a randomized, non-inferiority, multicenter trial

We conducted a prospective study to assess the non-inferiority of adjuvant chemotherapy alone versus adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) as an alternative strategy for patients with early-stage (FIGO 2009 stage IB-IIA) cervical cancer having risk factors after surgery. The condition was assessed in terms of prognosis, adverse effects, and quality of life. This randomized trial involved nine centers across China. Eligible patients were randomized to receive adjuvant chemotherapy or CCRT after surgery. The primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS). From December 2012 to December 2014, 337 patients were subjected to randomization. Final analysis included 329 patients, including 165 in the adjuvant chemotherapy group and 164 in the adjuvant CCRT group. The median follow-up was 72.1 months. The three-year PFS rates were both 91.9%, and the five-year OS was 90.6% versus 90.0% in adjuvant chemotherapy and CCRT groups, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the PFS or OS between groups. The adjusted HR for PFS was 0.854 (95% confidence interval 0.415-1.757; P = 0.667) favoring adjuvant chemotherapy, excluding the predefined non-inferiority boundary of 1.9. The chemotherapy group showed a tendency toward good quality of life. In comparison with post-operative adjuvant CCRT, adjuvant chemotherapy treatment showed non-inferior efficacy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer having pathological risk factors. Adjuvant chemotherapy alone is a favorable alternative post-operative treatment.

Clinical outcome of FIGO 2018 stage IB3/IIA2 cervical cancer treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical surgery due to lack of radiotherapy equipment: A retrospective comparison with concurrent chemoradiotherapy

This study aimed to assess neoadjuvant chemotherapy’s clinical outcomes such as efficacy, toxicity, and survival outcomes followed by radical hysterectomy ((NACT-RS) among women with cervical cancer stage IB3 and IIA2, by comparing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and NACT-RS. The study retrospectively reviewed patients with (2018 FIGO) stage IB3 and IIA2 cervical cancer who received preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by NACT-RS or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). The outcome measures were the 5-year survival and complication rates between the two groups. The median follow-up was 75 months. In total, 218 patients had stage IIA2, 136 patients had stage IB3, 201 patients received CCRT, and 153 patients received preoperative NACT-RS. In the CCRT group, the incidence of early complications (myelosuppression, gastrointestinal and urinary) was higher compared with that in the NACT-RS group (76.1 vs. 26.1%; p < 0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference between the two study groups concerning late complications. Five-year PFS was 79.9% and 85.5% in the NACT-RS and CCRT groups, respectively (p = 0.093). Five-year OS was 86.9% and 85.5% in the NACT-RS and CCRT groups, respectively (p = 0.97). In the multivariate clinicopathologic characteristics analysis for OS, initial tumor size > 4.3 cm (HR 5.11; p < 0.001), AC/ASC (HR 1.89; p = 0.02), histologic grade 2–3 (HR 2.25; p = 0.04), and 2018 FIGO stage IIA2 (HR 8.67; p < 0.001) were independent risk factors. The survival of patients with stage IB3 and IIA2 cervical cancer treated with NACT-RS was similar to that of patients treated with CCRT without increasing side effects.

Application of an Autophagy-Related Gene Prognostic Risk Model Based on TCGA Database in Cervical Cancer

Background: Autophagy plays an important role in the development of cancer. However, the prognostic value of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) in cervical cancer (CC) is unclear. The purpose of this study is to construct a survival model for predicting the prognosis of CC patients based on ARG signature.

Methods: ARGs were obtained from the Human Autophagy Database and Molecular Signatures Database. The expression profiles of ARGs and clinical data were downloaded from the TCGA database. Differential expression analysis of CC tissues and normal tissues was performed using R software to screen out ARGs with an aberrant expression. Univariate Cox, Lasso, and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to construct a prognostic model which was validated by using the test set and the entire set. We also performed an independent prognostic analysis of risk score and some clinicopathological factors of CC. Finally, a clinical practical nomogram was established to predict individual survival probability.

Results: Compared with normal tissues, there were 63 ARGs with an aberrant expression in CC tissues. A risk model based on 3 ARGs was finally obtained by Lasso and Cox regression analysis. Patients with high risk had significantly shorter overall survival (OS) than low-risk patients in both train set and validation set. The ROC curve validated its good performance in survival prediction, suggesting that this model has a certain extent sensitivity and specificity. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor. Finally, we mapped a nomogram to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival for CC patients. The calibration curves indicated that the model was reliable.

Conclusion: A risk prediction model based on CHMP4C, FOXO1, and RRAGB was successfully constructed, which could effectively predict the prognosis of CC patients. This model can provide a reference for CC patients to make precise treatment strategy.

Prognostic Assessment of Cervical Cancer Patients by Clinical Staging and Surgical-Pathological Factor: A Support Vector Machine-Based Approach

Introduction: The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system is considered the most powerful prognostic factor in patients with cervical cancer. In addition, other surgical-pathological risk factors have been demonstrated to have significance in predicting the prognosis of patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the FIGO staging system and surgical-pathological risk factors on the prognosis of cervical cancer patients.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on patients diagnosed with cervical cancer at FIGO stage IB1–IIA2. Kaplan–Meier, Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm were used to assess and validate the high-risk factors related to recurrence and death.

Results: A total of 647 patients were included. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that five high-risk factors, including FIGO stage, status of pelvic lymph node, parametrial involvement, tumor size, and depth of cervical cancer, had a significant effect on the prognosis of patients. In multivariate analysis, pelvic lymph node metastasis (hazard ratio [HR] 2.415, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.471–3.965), parametrial involvement (HR 2.740, 95% CI 1.092–6.872) and >2/3 depth of cervical invasion (HR 2.263, 95% CI 1.045–4.902) were three independent risk factors of disease-free survival. Pelvic lymph node metastasis (HR 3.855, 95% CI 2.125–6.991) and parametrial involvement (HR 3.871, 95% CI 1.375–10.900) were two independent risk factors for overall survival. When all five high-risk factors were assembled and used for classification prediction through SVM, it achieved the highest prediction accuracy of recurrence (accuracy = 69.1%). The highest prediction accuracy for survival was 94.3% when only using the two independent predictors (the pathological status of lymph nodes and parametrium involvement) by SVM classifiers. Among the 13 groups of intermediate-risk factor, the combination of tumor size, histology and grade of differentiation was more accurate in predicting prognosis than the intermediate-risk factors in the Sedlis criteria (recurrence: 86.8% vs. 60.0%; death: 92.0% vs. 71.6%).

Conclusions: The combination of FIGO stage and surgical-pathological risk factors can further enhance the prediction accuracy of the prognosis in patients with early-stage cervical cancer. Histology and grade of differentiation can further improve the prediction accuracy of intermediate-risk factors in the Sedlis criteria.

Clinicopathological risk factors in the light of the revised 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system for early cervical cancer with staging IB: A single center retrospective study

To validate the revised 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system for cervical cancer on the survival of patients who underwent radical hysterectomy for 2009 FIGO stage IB carcinomas.We retrospectively identified and reviewed 251 patients treated with radical hysterectomy for 2009 FIGO stage IB cervical carcinomas from January 2011 to December 2016. The re-staged IB cohort consisted of 2018 FIGO stage IB1 (tumor size <2 cm), IB2 (2-3.9 cm), IB3 (≥4 cm), and IIIC1p (any pelvic nodal metastasis) cervical cancer. The univariate log-rank test and multivariate Cox regression models were performed for all potential clinic pathological risk factors based on cancer stage.On re-staging the 251 patients with 2009 FIGO stage IB using the 2018 FIGO staging system, 96 patients (38.2%) had stage IB1, 109 patients (43.4%) had stage IB2, 28 patients (11.2%) had stage IB3, and 18 patients (7.2%) had stage IIIC1p. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of patients with 2018 FIGO stage IB1, IB2, IB3, and IIIC1p were 97.9%, 92.7%, 78.6%, and 61.1%, respectively. The 5-year progression-free survival rates were 97.9%, 92.7%,63.7%, and 20.8%, respectively. Factors significantly affecting OS and disease-free survival were 2018 FIGO stage≥IB3, histologic grade 2-3, and lymph node involvement.The revised 2018 FIGO staging system seemed to accurately reflect the survival rate, with a distinct statistical tendency for poorer 5-year disease-free survival and OS rates with increasing stage. Women with positive lymph nodes in this classification were classified as having stage IIIC disease, which can achieve more realistic survival results than the previous staging system. The prognostic discrimination of histologic grade should be considered when revising the staging system in the future.

Increased risk of poor survival in ovarian cancer patients with high expression of SNAI2 and lymphovascular space invasion

This study is aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of lymphovascular space invasion(LVSI) and to explore the potential association of SNAI1 and SNAI2 with LVSI in ovarian cancer. A systematic literature search in PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Medline was conducted to identify relevant studies assessing the prognostic value of LVSI in ovarian cancer. The main outcomes analyzed were progression free survival/disease free survival and overall survival. TCGA database was used to explore the potential link of SNAI1 and SNAI2 with LVSI status. A total of 11 eligible studies enrolling 1817 patients were included for the meta-analysis. The overall analysis indicated that LVSI presence was associated with shorter duration of survival in ovarian cancer patients. Multivariate analysis indicated that both advanced stage and SNAI2 expression were associated with increased risk of LVSI presence. Survival analysis indicated that tumors with LVSI presence and high SNAI2 expression were significantly correlated with poorer survival when compared to tumors with both LVSI absence and low SNAI2 expression. In conclusion, LVSI presence was associated with worse clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer. Increased expression of SNAI2 and advanced stage were independent risk factors for LVSI presence. Our findings also emphasizes the potential of SNAI2 in promoting lymphovascular spread of ovarian cancer.