Lymph Node Metastasis and Patterns of Recurrence in Vulvar Carcinoma: 10 Years' Single Center Experience

Vulvar carcinoma is a relatively rare malignancy and there is a paucity of data, especially from India and other developing countries regarding the prognostic factors impacting recurrence and survival. A retrospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at a tertiary care, regional cancer institute, including all patients with carcinoma vulva who underwent surgery between 2009 and 2018. Demographic profile, surgical-pathological information, details of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy, and peri-operative complications were analyzed. Long-term follow-up data was gathered, with an evaluation of various prognostic factors impacting recurrence and overall survival outcome. Forty-five cases with mean age of 56.2 years (range 29-82) were treated during the study period. Surgery was the initial treatment modality in 41 (91.1%) cases. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgery was given to four cases. After complete surgico-pathological staging, most patients had stage I disease (26 cases, 57.8%) and 22.2% had stage II disease. Owing to microscopic lymph node involvement, seven cases (15.6%) belonged to FIGO stage III disease. Two cases had stage IVA disease with fixed groin nodes. Adjuvant chemotherapy in the form of 5-fluoro uracil and cisplatin was administered to four out of the nine patients with nodal involvement. The remaining five were advised adjuvant groin radiation. At a median follow-up of 34 months (range 2-114 months), 12 cases (26.7%) experienced a recurrence and one case with stage IVA disease progressed during adjuvant chemotherapy. The 5-year overall survival was 76.6% and the 5-year disease-free survival was 69.6%. There were a total number of 10 deaths, of which seven were due to disease recurrence or progression and the remaining 30% of deaths were due to medical co-morbid conditions. Overall survival was negatively impacted by increasing age (age > 60 years), number of positive nodes, presence of perinodal spread, and stage of the disease. Recurrence-free survival was significantly reduced in those with the presence of peri-nodal spread and lympho-vascular space invasion. The incidence of lymph node metastasis was found to be higher in patients with age > 60 years, increasing tumor size, presence of lympho-vascular space invasion and the number of lymph nodes removed. In carcinoma vulva, treatment should be individualized with multidisciplinary cooperation. In our series, we found that the stage of disease, nodal positivity, and nodal positivity with extra-capsular spread were significant prognostic factors impacting survival on analysis. Lymph nodal positivity was associated with increasing tumour size, presence of lympho-vascular invasion, and patient age.

The role of surgery in locally advanced carcinoma of cervix after sub-optimal chemoradiation: Indian scenario

Background:

Standard treatment of advanced cervical cancer is concurrent chemoradiation. Radical radiotherapy for carcinoma cervix includes pelvic external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with the concomitant platinum based chemotherapy followed by intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) to boost central disease. Management of patients who are suboptimally treated, especially, after unsuccessful ICBT insertion is not well-defined. This study explores the role of hysterectomy in these patients.

Materials and Methods:

From January 2006 to December 2011, 38 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer, in whom ICBT insertion was unsuccessful, were analyzed retrospectively. Operable patients with no parametrial involvement underwent hysterectomy and outcomes (recurrence free and overall survival) were noted.

Results:

The major complications in post operative period were wound infection, paralytic ileus and bladder atony all of which were conservatively managed with no mortality. At median follow-up of 36 months (range 12-60 months) there was no recurrence in patients with stage 1B2 and stage IIA, 25 out of 38 (65.8%) were event free and the overall survival was 71%.

Conclusion:

Many patients in Indian scenario receive suboptimal therapy in locally advanced cervical cancer. EBRT with chemotherapy followed by type 1 extra-fascial hysterectomy can be a good alternative for these patients.

Risk strata-based therapy and outcome in stage Ib-IIa carcinoma cervix: single-centre ten-year experience

Aim

To review the outcome of stage (Ib, IIa), cervical cancer patients were primarily treated with radical hysterectomy and risk-based postoperative therapy.

Material and methods

Between January 2001 and December 2011, 601 cases underwent surgery followed by tailored therapy. Patients were classified into low risk (pelvic lymph node negative, tumour less than 4 cm, no evidence of lympho-vascular invasion, less than one-third of thickness of surgical stoma involved), intermediate risk (positive lympho-vascular space invasion, tumour size more than 4 cm, and deep invasion of cervical stroma), and high risk (pelvic lymph node involved, positive parametrial, or vaginal margins) groups. Postoperative adju-vant therapy in the form of radiotherapy alone to those with intermediate risk and chemo-radiotherapy to those with high risk was given to patients. The median follow-up was 60 months.

Results

The majority of patients had intermediate risk. The overall event-free survival (EFS) at five years was 74.37%, with EFS of 86.5% in those from the low-risk group, 73% in those from the intermediate-risk group, and 64% in those from the high-risk group. In conclusion, risk strata-based adjuvant postoperative therapy is able to provide a favourable outcome in patients with stage Ib–IIa cervical cancer with a nearly 11% improvement in survival compared with historical control.