Malignant mesothelioma of the peritoneum mimicking primary peritonitis carcinomatosis

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Cervical Cancer Screening in Women Aged Older Than 65 Years

OBJECTIVES

Considerable debate exists among guidelines regarding when cervical cancer screening can be safely stopped. The authors aimed to compare the efficiency of human papillomavirus (HPV) test, cytology, and previous screening history for the diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2+ lesions in women aged older than 65 years.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study. Multiple logistic regressions were used to compare the efficiency of the HPV test, cytology, and previous screening history for the diagnosis of histologically proven CIN 2+ lesions.

RESULTS

A total of 5,427 women were included in the study. A total of 2,143 women were tested with HPV and 52 (2.4%) of them were HPV-positive. Abnormal cytology was detected in 359 (6.6%) women. Most of the women (70.4%) had inadequate screening in the previous 10 years. According to regression analysis, an HPV-positive test increases the risk of probability of CIN 2+ 136.111 times [95% CI for odds ratio (OR) = 41.212-449.538] compared with an HPV-negative test ( p < .001). Abnormal cytology increases the probability of CIN 2+ 13.072 times (95% CI for OR = 3.878-44.062) compared with normal cytology ( p < .001). Inadequate or positive previous screening increases the likelihood of CIN 2+ 9.705 times (95% CI for OR = 1.603-58.756) compared with adequate and negative previous screening ( p = .013).

CONCLUSIONS

Adequate previous screening is a valuable strategy, and abnormal cytology is an important screening test in women aged older than 65 years. However, the HPV test is the most determinant parameter for CIN 2+ risk in elderly women.

Reproductive and oncologic outcomes in women with non-epithelial ovarian cancer: Single center experience over 25 years

Objective

This study aimed to present our single-center clinical experience regarding tumor clinicopathologic features, treatment modalities, and reproductive and oncologic outcomes in patients with non-epithelial ovarian cancer (NEOC) over 25 years.

Materials and Methods

A total of 100 patients with clinicopathological diagnosis of NEOC who were treated at our tertiary care center between 1996 and 2022 were included in this retrospective cohort analysis study. Data on demographic, clinical and obstetric characteristics of patients at the time of initial diagnosis as well as tumor clinicopathologic features, treatment modalities, and oncological and reproductive outcomes were recorded.

Results

NEOCs involved germ cell tumors (GCTs) in 46 (46%) patients and sex cordstromal tumors (SCSTs) in 54 (54%) patients. Thirty patients with GCTs and thirty-four patients with SCSTs possessed histological subtypes with malignant features. Most patients with GCTs (37%) and SCSTs (55.6%) had FIGO Stage 1 disease at the time of initial diagnosis. Overall, 76.6% of patients in the GCT group (n=23) underwent fertility-sparing surgery (FSS), while 76.5% of the patients in the SCST group (n=26) were treated with non-fertility-sparing surgical procedures. All patients who underwent FSS and had a recurrence in their follow-up (n=4) was stage 3 patients. Seven out of 10 patients (2 patients at stage 3 and 5 patients at stage 1) who desired pregnancy delivered between 38 and 40 gestational weeks without any congenital anomaly. The prognosis was excellent in both groups, with 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of 93.5% in GCTs and 96.3% in SCST groups. The 5-year disease-free survival was 89.1% in GCTs and 94.4% in SCSTs. FSS was not associated with worse oncologic outcomes.

Conclusion

NEOCs usually have a good prognosis because they are detected at an early stage. FSS may be indicated for women of reproductive age with early-stage NEOCs.

Factors that contribute to the recurrence of mucinous ovarian cancer: Monocenter retrospective evaluation

Purpose

In this study, we aimed to put forth the factors that contribute to the recurrence of mucinous ovarian cancer.

Materials and Methods

Forty-four mucinous ovarian cancer patients who have presented to our clinic between February 2006 and May 2018 took part in the study. In order to predict the factors that contribute to recurrence, the univariate and the multivariate logistic regressions were utilized. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was utilized for survival and the log-rank test was used for the discrepancies between the groups. In the analysis of the data, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 22 program was used. It was acknowledged to have statistical meaning when the P value in all the tests was lower than 0.05.

Findings

Recurrence was detected in 20 out of 44 patients who participated in the study. The ages of the patients who did not experience recurrence were significantly lower ( P = 0.001). The patients were detected mostly in Stage 1 (36.4%). In the group of patients without recurrence, systemic lymphadenectomy (43.2%) was greater ( P = 0.019). Lymph node metastasis was three times higher in the group that experienced recurrence ( P = 0.047). When the two groups were compared, the platinum resistance was considerably greater in the group with recurrence ( P = 0.005). In terms of residual tumor, the rate of complete resection was (9%) better in the group that experienced recurrence compared to the group that did not experience recurrence, with a rate of 45.5%. While 12 patients who experienced recurrence died, 6 people died in the other group. From the factors that contribute to recurrence, in terms of residual tumor quantity, this was grouped as complete (R0) resection and optimal + suboptimal (R1 + R2) resection and the following were determined: odds ratio (OR) - 5.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.56-20.9) and P = 0.008 for R1 + R2. In univariate analysis, the OR was determined as 1.16 (95% CI: 1.06-1.27) for age. Possessing a Stage 2 and higher disease statistically contributed considerably to the recurrence compared to Stage 1 disease (OR: 6.33; 95% CI: 1.59-25.22; P = 0.009). Age was determined as an independent prognostic risk factor in the multivariate analysis (OR: 1.10 [95% CI: 1.04-1.25]), P = 0.018. Furthermore, the OR for the advanced-stage (Stage 2 or higher) patients in the multivariate analysis was determined as 7.88 (95% CI: 0.78-78.8) and was found to be statistically significant at limits ( P = 0.079).

Results

We have put forth that the genetic, biological, and clinical characteristics of mucinous ovarian cancers differ from that of other epithelial ovarian cancers, and that age, advanced stage, and residual tumor quantity are prognostic risk factors in terms of recurrence, and that age is an independent prognostic risk factor.

Conclusion

Biological and clinical characteristics of mucinous ovarian cancers differ from those of other epithelial ovarian cancers, and we observed that the age, advanced stage, and the amount of residual tumor regarding recurrence are prognostic risk factors, while age was determined as an independent prognostic risk factor.

Survival analysis and obstetric outcomes in patients with early stage ovarian cancer undergoing fertility-sparing surgery

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the long-term outcomes in patients with early stage ovarian cancer undergoing fertility-sparing surgery.

METHODS

The present study performed a retrospective analysis of recurrence, pregnancy and survival of a total of 66 patients who were diagnosed with early stage ovarian cancer (stage I) in XXX Faculty of Medicine Hospital between 2004 and 2019. Of these patients, 16 had undergone fertility-sparing surgery, and the remaining 50 patients had undergone radical surgery.

RESULTS

Of 66 eligible patients, 16 had undergone fertility-sparing surgery, and the remaining 50 patients had undergone radical complete surgery. When demographic and descriptive data are taken into consideration, the mean age was 32.6 ± 6.76 years in patients undergoing fertility-sparing surgery and 54.05 ± 10.8 years in patients undergoing complete surgery, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Of patients undergoing fertility-sparing surgery, 11 (16.7%) had stage Ia disease (most common), 5 (7.5%) had stage Ic disease, whereas no patient with stage Ib disease was detected. Of patients undergoing complete radical surgery, 32 (48.5%) had stage Ia disease (most common), 1 (1.5%) had stage Ib disease with bilateral ovarian involvement, and stage Ic was the second most common disease stage. Also, stage Ic3 was the most common disease stage (8 patients, 12.1%) among those with stage Ic disease. The rate of recurrence was 4.5% (3 patients) in patients undergoing fertility-sparing surgery, and recurrences occurred at 37 months, 69 months, and 76 months, respectively. A patient with stage Ic3 disease and endometrioid type tumor who developed recurrence at 37 months died at 130 months. Of patients undergoing complete surgery, ten patients (15.2%) developed recurrence, and there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of recurrence (p = 1.00). At the end of 15-year follow-up period, there was no significant difference between patients undergoing fertility-preserving surgery and those undergoing complete surgery in terms of mortality (p = 0.668).

CONCLUSION

The observation of significant findings in terms of the rate of recurrence and disease-free survival following fertility-sparing surgery in patients with low-risk early stage ovarian cancer suggests that survival is positively affected in early stage ovarian cancer.

The Relationship Between Parametrial Involvement and Parametrial Tissue Removed in Radical Surgery in Early-Stage Cervical Cancer

Background

The study aims to evaluate the effect of parametrial dimensions on the prognosis of cases who underwent type 3 radical hysterectomy or radical trachelectomy in early-stage cervical cancer (stage I - IIa).

Methods

Medical reports of patients with early-stage cervical cancer who have undergone surgery between 1998 and 2020 in Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine Gynecological Oncology Clinic were reviewed retrospectively. A total of 292 cases were identified and included in the study. Demographic characteristics, preoperative examination findings, operation records, and pathology results of the cases were reviewed.

Results

Parametrial involvement was found histopathologically negative in 244 out of 292 patients included in our study, the remaining 48 (16.4%) patients were found to be positive. The mean length of the right and left parametrium in the group with negative parametrium invasion, who had an average follow-up of 131.2 (0.57 - 268.2) months, was 3 cm, while the mean volume of the right and left parametrium was 7.2 (0.52 - 32) cm³ and 6 (0.48 - 34) cm³, respectively. On the other hand, the mean length of the right and left parametrium was 3 (1.5 - 5.5) cm and 3 (1.4 - 7) cm, respectively, while the mean volume of the right parametrium was 5.55 (1.37 - 22) cm³, and the mean volume of the left parametrium was 7.5 (1.35 - 24) cm³ in 48 patients with positive parametrial invasion. No statistically significant difference was detected between the two groups when compared in terms of parametrial sizes and volumes (P values of 0.061, 0.262, 0.391, and 0.468, respectively).

Conclusions

Radical surgical approach is necessary to obtain a tumor-free surgical margin in the surgical treatment of early cervical cancer, but the complications leading to morbidity and mortality are also increasing with this radicality. For this reason, we consider that it is important to adapt the dimensions of the removed parametrium according to the factors affecting recurrence in cervical cancer to obtain more appropriate surgical margins with the least complications.

Evaluation of elderly women with uterin cervical cancer

Background

Uterine cervical cancer rates also increase with aging. Especially, the primary treatments of patients with cervical cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.

Aim

Our aim is to discuss the effect of clinical and histopathological risk factors on survival in patients over 65 years old with invasive cervical cancer in the light of the literature.

Methods and Results

The files of 60 patients aged 65 and over who were diagnosed, examined, and treated for invasive cervical uteri cancer between 2004 and 2021 by the gynecological oncology clinic of Akdeniz University were analyzed retrospectively after obtaining approval from the Akdeniz University ethics committee with the number KAEK‐110. Detailed written consent was obtained from all patients and their relatives for data analysis. Patients aged 65 and over who were diagnosed with invasive cervical uteri cancer at all stages who accepted treatment were included in the study. The patients who were not included in the study were those who did not accept treatment, did not continue their follow‐up regularly, were under 65 years of age, had preinvasive cervical lesion, had a second primary cancer, had an unknown stage, and died due to accidents or similar reasons.

When the demographic data of 60 cases were examined, the mean age was 70.5, the youngest age was 65, and the oldest age was 84. When we divided them into two groups by age groups, 76.7% were between 65 and 75 years old and 23.3% were over 75 years old. When the data of 60 patients who were referred to our hospital, which was a tertiary center in the 15 years duration, were examined, the mean disease‐progression free survival (PFS) of patients with locally advanced stage was 45 months, however, it was 4 months for metastatic patients, this difference was significant and a statistically significant difference was found between the two groups (p: .001). When the total survival was examined, the mean was 108.7 months in the locally advanced stage group, while it was 2.9 months in metastatic cases, and this difference was also statistically significant between the two groups (p: .001). When we divide the cases into two groups as between 65 and 75 and over 75 years of age, the mean age of disease‐free survival is 76.9 months in the 65–75 years old group, while 16 months in the 76–85 years old group, however, the p value of this difference in PFS between the two groups was not significant (p: 0.154). However, when the total survival was examined, it was seen that the mean was 140.4 in the 65–75 years old group, while it was 56 months in the 76–85 years old group and this difference was significant between the two groups (p: .046).

Conclusion

In parallel with the increased population worldwide, advanced age cancer rates are increasing. In parallel with the population growth, it should be remembered that the patients over 65 years of age who were diagnosed with invasive uterine cervical cancer had difficulty in accessing screening tests, late diagnosis and inadequate treatment regimens due to concomitant diseases, resulting in recurrence in a short time and poor clinical symptoms due to short total survival.

Solving an incomplete puzzle: risk factors of low back pain during pregnancy

OBJECTIVES

Low back pain during pregnancy is a common disorder with an obscure etiopathogenesis. This study sought to investigate the association of low back pain by assessing various epidemiologic and clinical risk factors including weight changes, the presence of striae gravidarum, and intraperitoneal adhesions.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 250 pregnant women between 37 and 40 gestational weeks who were scheduled for cesarean section were included in this multicenter prospective trial. Sociodemographic parameters and physical examination findings were noted and assessed as potential risk factors that may play a role in the development of low back pain.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study population was 29.98 ± 5.23 years and low back pain was identified in 120 (48%) patients. According to the logistic regression results, an increase in BMI (%) during pregnancy (odds ratio: 1.240; 95% CI: 1.061-1.448; p = 0.007) is correlated with the presence of low back pain. Separately, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggested that an increase in BMI (%) during pregnancy has a sensitivity of 77.5% and a specificity of 60% for the prediction of low back pain, and the cutoff point was found to be 15.5%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results imply that an increase in BMI (%) was correlated with low back pain during pregnancy. Weight gain should be personalized for each pregnancy and the increase in BMI (%) during gestation should be reduced. Measures should be taken to assure appropriate weight control to prevent low back pain during pregnancy.

Risk factors that increase recurrence in borderline ovarian cancers

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we aimed to compare the clinical and pathological results of borderline ovarian tumor cases that were operated on in our clinic within the last 15 years and to investigate the factors affecting recurrence.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The archived files of the patients with borderline ovarian tumors, who had been operated on at the Akdeniz University Medical Faculty Gynecological Oncology Unit between 2006 and 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 48 cases were identified and included in the study. Oncological results affecting relapse were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis models. Disease-free survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

The median follow-up period of the 48 patients included in our study was 51.5 months and while the shortest follow-up was 2 months, the longest follow-up period was 164 months. The mean age of the patients was 47.6 ± 12.5 years, and the mean BMI was found to be 27.2 ± 3.7. Of the patients, 19 (39.6%) were post-menopausal, and when all stages were included, the 10-year progression free survival (PFS) was 65%, while the 10-year overall survival (OS) was 96.6%. It was observed that 8 (16.6%) patients encountered recurrence during their follow-up. The multivariate analysis of significance found for the operation type, adjuvant chemotherapy and micro-invasion in the univariate analysis of clinical pathological characteristics with regard to recurrence, fertility-sparing surgery and micro-invasion were determined to have a significant difference in recurrence (p: 0,016, p: 0,048).

CONCLUSION

Borderline ovarian tumors are especially seen in young patients and although their clinical prognosis is very good, a significant difference was found in recurrence in patients who had undergone fertility-sparing surgery, in whom the micro-invasion was positive and in those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, and disease-free survival was shorter in these patients and close follow-up of these patients is recommended.

Bevacizumab in recurrent ovarian cancer

PURPOSE

The cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab has been the subject of debate, and we aimed to present our own retrospective data on its effect on survival in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.

METHODS

Patients with recurrent ovarian, tubal and primary peritoneal cancer between October 2007 and June 2018 were grouped according to the platinum-free interval. The progression-free and overall survivals of the patients who had received chemotherapy only and chemotherapy with bevacizumab were calculated.

RESULTS

Eighty patients had received chemotherapy (CT) only, and 65 had received CT+BV. In platinum-sensitive recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (PSREOC) patients, the median progression-free survival (PFS) months was 7 months (95% CI; 5.5-8.4) in the group who had received CT only and 13 months (95% CI; 5.8-20.1) in the group who had received CT+BV (p=0.001) and for CT+BV HR (Hazard Ratio):0.39 (95% CI; 0.24-0.64) (p=0.001). The median PFS of platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (PRREOC) patients who had received CT only was determined as 2 (95% CI; 1.4-2.5) and as 10 (95% CI; 6.8-13.1) months for patients who had received CT+BV (p=0.001), for patients who had received CT+BV HR: 0.31 (95% CI; 0.17-0.58) (p=0.001). In both PSREOC and PRREOC patients, there was no difference between CT + BV and CT group in terms of overall survival (p=0.978 and p=0.738, respectively).

CONCLUSION

A significant effect of bevacizumab on the progression-free survival of both platinum-sensitive and platinum resistant recurrent ovarian cancers has been demonstrated; however, this effect failed to impact overall survival. Therefore, it could be recommended to use bevacizumab, considering the cost-effectiveness in undeveloped and developing countries.

Cholesterol granuloma mimicking ovarian cancer

Cholesterol granuloma is a consequence of a chronic inflammatory reaction with accumulation of cholesterol crystals in the tissue. Ovarian cholesterol granuloma is rarely reported in the literature and can be misdiagnosed as ovarian cancer during surgery due to pelvic fibrosis and adhesion secondary to chronic inflammation, especially in postmenopausal women. We present a patient who had been referred to our gynecologic oncology clinic. The patient was a 65-year-old overweight female. She was referred to our tertiary hospital due to suspicion of ovarian cancer since she had CA 125 level above 3000 U/ml with a pelvic mass. To date, no cases of cholesterol granuloma causing CA 125 level above 3000 U/ml have been reported in the literature. We performed an elective diagnostic laparotomy to rule out occult malignancy. After removing the mass, it was sent for frozen section intraoperative consultation. Grossly the mass had irregular surface with yellow-brown appearance. The final diagnosis of cholesterol granuloma with serous cystadenofibroma was made. No evidence of malignancy was found. Symptoms, clinical and intraoperative findings of ovarian choloesterol granuloma can be misdiagnosed as cancer. Since the final diagnosis of a pelvic mass depends on histologic analysis, cholesterol granuloma should be kept in mind as a differential diagnosis of pelvic mass.

The insolvable problem; survival effect of lymphadenectomy in advanced stage ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVES

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of systemic lymphadenectomy on overall and progression free survival in advanced stage of ovarian cancer.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The data of ovarian cancer patients who had been admitted to our clinic between March 2008 and December 2019 were collected retrospectively. The patients who had received neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), those having undergone interval surgery, those who had non-epithelial ovarian cancer, those with residual tumour larger than 1 cm and those with stage I-IIA were excluded from the study.

RESULTS

A total of 241 patients with inclusion criteria were included in the study. While 169 patients (70.1%) had undergone systemic lymphadenectomy (SLND), 72 (29.9%) had not. Lymph node involvement was present in 105 out of 169 patients (62.1%) who had undergone SLND. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of SLND and lymph node involvement for both progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.577, p = 0.493, p = 0.481, p = 0.849 respectively). When subgroup analysis was performed according to the residual tumor amount, we could not find any statistically significant difference in both PFS and OS in terms of SLND and lymph node involvement in R0 (complete resection) group (p = 0.057, p = 0.917, p = 0.106 and p = 0.980 respectively). We found similar results for patients in the R1 (optimal resection) group.

CONCLUSIONS

It was found that performing systemic lymphadenectomy had no effect on both progressive and overal survival. It should be kept in mind that the increasing number of malignant lymph nodes removed could have a therapeutic effect in OS. Large numbers of randomized clinical trials are required to enlighten this debatable issue that has been continuing, particularly in the recent two decades.

Encountering the accessory polar renal artery during retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy

Because of the accessory polar renal artery (APRA) is functional, it is extremely important to be careful with vascular injuries, to prevent ischemic damage and not to cause kidney failure complications.

The effect of age On cervical cancer screening in women aged 20-29

No definite consensus exists currently regarding the appropriate age at which to start cervical cancer screening. We analyzed the effectiveness of age in abnormal histology outcomes in women aged 20-29. Data on women aged 20-29 having undergone opportunistic cervical cancer screening with cytology during the 2014-2019 period were retrospectively reviewed. Based on cytology outcomes, human papillomavirus test results (if present), age and clinical decision, patients underwent either colposcopy or observation. The effects of age and other epidemiologic factors on histologic diagnoses of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cancer [CIN (+)] were analyzed in univariate and binomial logistic regression analyses. Among 1649 women, CIN (+) lesions were observed in 61 (3.7%) women. The occurrence of CIN (+) lesions increased 1.149 times each year; thus, women aged 25-29 were more likely to have CIN (+) than those aged 20-24 (4.4% vs. 2.1%; p=0.019). A significant determinant of CIN (+) was the increase in age, i.e. women aged 20-29. Accordingly, considering age is crucial for the diagnosis of CIN (+) in cancer screening.

Uterine giant cell carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature

Endometrial carcinoma is the most common genital malignancy in women. Endometrioid type is the most common variant of endometrial carcinoma described in literature. Giant cell carcinoma is a rare, and infrequently reported variant of endometrial carcinoma. We present a 75-year-old patient admitted with vaginal bleeding. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed a 26x28 mm hypodense lesion without any adnexal pathology. The patient underwent total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and bilateral pelvic, and paraaortic lymph node dissection. The final histopathology report indicated a 3.8x2x9 cm giant cell carcinoma variant of endometrial carcinoma and one positive external iliac lymph node metastasis. Administration of adjuvant carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy was given. As far as we know, this is the fifteenth case reported in the English literature.

Cervical Carcinoma in a Renal Transplant Recipient: A Case Report

A range of cancer types, at increased rates, is described in renal transplant recipients receiving immunosuppression. Aside from immunodeficiency, heightened medical surveillance for cancer, lifestyle, and other risk factors all play a role. Although the relation between cancer risk and degree of immunodeficiency might not be linear, and might be different for a wide range of cancer subtypes, human papillomavirus-related cancers in long-term transplant recipients may suggest the role of even modest immunosuppression, when present long enough. High-risk human papillomavirus types are recognized as the cause of cancer of the cervix. We report a 49-year-old female renal transplant recipient diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma, 5 years after the transplant. Based on this patient, we highlight difficulties in surgical approach and the importance of close clinical follow-up including regular gynecologic screening for cervical premalignant and malignant lesions.