Recurrence-associated factors of laparoscopic adenomyomectomy for severely symptomatic adenomyoma

Laparoscopic adenomyomectomy combined with levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system is effective for long-term management of adenomyosis

BACKGROUD

Laparoscopic adenomyomectomy combined with intraoperative placement of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (LNG-IUS) is a novel conservative surgical procedure for adenomyosis. Our study aimed to compare the efficacy of surgery with or without intraoperative placement of LNG-IUS treatment in adenomyosis.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of adenomyosis patients who received laparoscopic adenomyomectomy from January 2014 to April 2020, finally including 70 patients undergoing surgery-LNG-IUS as group A and 69 patients undegoing surgery only as group B. Risk factors for three-year relapse were analyzed using Cox's multivariate proportional hazard analysis.

RESULTS

Visual analog scale and Mansfield-Voda-Jorgensen Menstrual Bleeding Scale scores of group A at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months were significantly lower than those of group B at the corresponding points (P < .001 for both scales). Individuals in both groups showed statistically significant symptom relief. The recurrence rate in group A was significantly lower than that in group B at 36 months after the surgery (2.94% vs. 32.84%, P < .001). A cox proportional hazard model showed that relapse was significantly associated with coexisting ovarian endometriosis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-7.02, P = .015). Patients who received surgery-LNG-IUS had a lower risk of recurrence than those with surgery-alone (aHR, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.016-0.31, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Conservative surgery with intraoperative placement of LNG-IUS is effective and well-accepted for long-term therapy with a lower recurrence rate for adenomyosis. Coexistent ovarian endometriosis is a major factor for adenomyosis relapse.

Risk of Recurrence and Reintervention After Uterine-Sparing Interventions for Symptomatic Adenomyosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the risk of recurrence and reintervention after uterine-sparing treatment options for symptomatic adenomyosis, including adenomyomectomy, uterine artery embolization (UAE), and image-guided thermal ablation.

DATA SOURCES

We searched electronic databases such as Web of Science, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar from January 2000 to January 2022. The search was conducted using the following search terms: "adenomyosis," "recurrence," "reintervention," "relapse," and "recur."

METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION

All studies that described the risk of recurrence or reintervention after uterine-sparing interventions for symptomatic adenomyosis were reviewed and screened according to the eligibility criteria. Recurrence was defined as the reappearance of symptoms (painful menses or heavy menstrual bleeding) after significant or complete remission, or the reappearance of adenomyotic lesions confirmed by ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging.

TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS

The outcome measures were presented as the frequency with percentage and pooled with 95% CI. A total of 42 studies (single-arm retrospective and prospective studies) that represented 5,877 patients were included. The recurrence rates after adenomyomectomy, UAE, and image-guided thermal ablation were 12.6% (95% CI 8.9-16.4%), 29.5% (95% CI 17.4-41.5%), and 10.0% (95% CI 5.6-14.4%), respectively. The reintervention rates were 2.6% (95% CI 0.9-4.3%), 12.8% (95% CI 7.2-18.4%), and 8.2% (95% CI 4.6-11.9%) after adenomyomectomy, UAE, and image-guided thermal ablation, respectively. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed, and the heterogeneity was reduced in several analyses.

CONCLUSION

Uterine-sparing techniques were successful in treating adenomyosis with low reintervention rates. Uterine artery embolization had higher recurrence and reintervention rates than other techniques; however, patients treated with UAE had larger uteri and larger adenomyosis, indicating that selection bias may influence these results. More randomized controlled trials with a larger population are needed in the future.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO, CRD42021261289.

Maintenance dienogest therapy following adjuvant gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment after uterus-sparing surgery in adenomyosis: A retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the safety and efficacy of adjuvant gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) treatment followed by maintenance dienogest (DNG) therapy after uterus-sparing surgery.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study. A total of 190 patients with severe adenomyosis underwent uterus-sparing surgery between January 2010 and June 2020. Of these patients, 90 were analyzed. Forty-six patients (control group) received adjuvant 6-month GnRH-a therapy alone after uterus-sparing surgery, and 44 patients (maintenance group) received postoperative 6-month GnRH-a treatment followed by maintenance DNG therapy (2 mg/day orally). The median follow-up period was 18 months. The study was analyzed using generalized estimating equations.

RESULTS

At baseline, the characteristics of patients in each group were comparable. Compared with the control group, the maintenance group had a significant improvement in the visual analog scale score of dysmenorrhea (P < 0.001), hemoglobin level (P = 0.004), and uterine volume (P = 0.004) from baseline to 18 months after uterus-sparing surgery. The symptom recurrence rate was significantly lower in the maintenance group than in the control group (4.6% vs. 37.0%, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study suggest that combinatorial treatment with GnRH-a (adjuvant treatment) and DNG (maintenance therapy) represents a safe and effective short-term therapy after uterus-sparing surgery for adenomyosis.

Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of eutopic endometrium and ectopic lesions of adenomyosis

BACKGROUND

Adenomyosis (AM) is a common benign chronic gynaecological disorder; however, the precise pathogenesis of adenomyosis is still poorly understood. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) can uncover rare subpopulations, explore genetic and functional heterogeneity, and reveal the uniqueness of each cell. It provides us a new approach to reveal biological issues from a more detailed and microscopic perspective. Here, we utilize this revolutionary technology to identify the changes of gene expression patterns between ectopic lesions and the eutopic endometrium at the single-cell level and explore a potential novel pathogenesis of AM.

METHODS

A control endometrium (sample with leiomyoma excluding endometrial disorders, n = 1), eutopic endometrium and ectopic lesion (from a patient with adenomyosis, n = 1) samples were analysed by scRNA-seq, and additional leiomyoma (n = 3) and adenomyosis (n = 3) samples were used to confirm colocalization and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation. Protein colocalization was visualized by immunofluorescence, and CD34-periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) double staining was used to assess the formation of VM.

RESULTS

The scRNA-seq results suggest that cancer-, cell motility- and inflammation- (CMI) associated terms, cell proliferation and angiogenesis play important roles in the progression of AM. Moreover, the colocalization of EPCAM and PECAM1 increased significantly in the ectopic endometrium group (P < 0.05), cell subpopulation with high copy number variation (CNV) levels possessing tumour-like features existed in the ectopic lesion sample, and VNN1- and EPCAM-positive cell subcluster displayed active cell motility in endometrial epithelial cells. Furthermore, during the transformation of epithelial cells to endothelial cells, we observed the significant accumulation of VM formation (positively stained with PAS but not CD34, P < 0.05) in ectopic lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

In the present study, our results support the theory of adenomyosis derived from the invasion and migration of the endometrium. Moreover, cell subcluster with high CNV level and tumour-associated characteristics is identified. Furthermore, epithelial-endothelial transition (EET) and the formation of VM in tumours, the latter of which facilitates the blood supply and plays an important role in maintaining cell growth, were also confirmed to occur in AM. These results indicated that the inhibition of EET and VM formation may be a potential strategy for AM management.

Uterine adenomyosis is an oligoclonal disorder associated with KRAS mutations

Uterine adenomyosis is a benign disorder that often co-occurs with endometriosis and/or leiomyoma, and impairs quality of life. The genomic features of adenomyosis are unknown. Here we apply next-generation sequencing to adenomyosis (70 individuals and 192 multi-regional samples), as well as co-occurring leiomyoma and endometriosis, and find recurring KRAS mutations in 26/70 (37.1%) of adenomyosis cases. Multi-regional sequencing reveals oligoclonality in adenomyosis, with some mutations also detected in normal endometrium and/or co-occurring endometriosis. KRAS mutations are more frequent in cases of adenomyosis with co-occurring endometriosis, low progesterone receptor (PR) expression, or progestin (dienogest; DNG) pretreatment. DNG's anti-proliferative effect is diminished via epigenetic silencing of PR in immortalized cells with mutant KRAS. Our genomic analyses suggest that adenomyotic lesions frequently contain KRAS mutations that may reduce DNG efficacy, and that adenomyosis and endometriosis may share molecular etiology, explaining their co-occurrence. These findings could lead to genetically guided therapy and/or relapse risk assessment after uterine-sparing surgery.

Comparisons of the efficacy and recurrence of adenomyomectomy for severe uterine diffuse adenomyosis via laparotomy versus laparoscopy: a long-term result in a single institution

Purpose

Studies have shown that adenomyomectomy can effectively treat women with adenomyosis in a short period of time. However, the long-term efficacy of adenomyomectomy has rarely been reported. The objective of this study was to determine whether laparotomy is superior to laparoscopic surgery in the long-term efficacy of double-flap method adenomyomectomy for severe diffuse adenomyosis.

Methods

Between March 2011 and September 2018, a total of 148 patients with severe uterine diffuse adenomyosis who underwent laparoscopic (group A, n=72) and laparotomic (group B, n=76) double-flap adenomyomectomy were recruited. Adenomyomectomy efficacy and adenomyosis recurrence after surgery between groups A and B were comparatively analyzed.

Results

The effective rate at 6-year follow up after surgery was higher in group B (75.0%) than that in group A (62.1%), while the 6-year cumulative recurrence rate was higher in group A (27.8%) than that in group B (17.1%), but the differences did not reach statistical significance between the two groups (P>0.05). The recurrence rate was lower in patients who were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) plus Mirena or oral contraceptives post-surgically than that in patients who were treated with only GnRHa post-surgically in groups A (51.6% vs 9.8%, P<0.01) and B (33.3% vs 6.5%, P<0.05). Moreover, the recurrence rate of adenomyosis patients with endometriosis was higher than that of adenomyosis patients without endometriosis in group A (55.0% vs 17.3%, P<0.05) and group B (36.0% vs 7.8%, P<0.05).

Conclusion

The long-term outcomes of laparoscopic and laparotomic double-flap adenomyomectomy can be achieved for severe diffuse uterine adenomyosis, but laparotomy seems to have advantages over laparoscopy. Postoperative drug use may be beneficial to reduce the recurrence of adenomyosis, especially for adenomyosis with endometriosis.