Surgery in gynecologic oncology--yesterday, today and tomorrow. Presented to the German Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics Düsseldorf, September 2002.
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Publications and source records attributed to M J Webb.
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OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to assess indications for and outcome and morbidity of gastrointestinal surgery in patients with ovarian cancer. METHODS: We reviewed 364 patients with ovarian cancer who underwent a total of 491 operations including a gastrointestinal procedure over a 10-year period. The 491 operations comprised 180 primary surgical procedures (37%), 44 second-look laparotomies (9%), and 267 procedures for recurrence or palliation (54%). RESULTS: Debulking of disease was the indication for bowel surgery for 87, 45, and 62% of cases in the three groups, respectively. Bowel obstruction was an indication in 14% of patients at primary surgery and in 34% at secondary surgery (P < 0.05). Rectosigmoid resection was the most common bowel operation overall, particularly in the primary surgery group (65%). Colostomy was performed in 30% of the cases of rectosigmoid resection at primary surgery. Small-bowel resection was most common in the surgery for recurrence or palliation group. The blood transfusion rate was 79%. Febrile morbidity was the most common complication overall (29%), with no significant differences among groups. Four patients (0.8%) required reoperation for an abscess or anastomotic leak. Nineteen operations (3.9%) were followed by death within 30 days, with no significant differences among groups. A weighted Cox model estimated that 21, 42, and 11% of patients would be alive 5 years after primary surgery, second-look laparotomy, and surgery for recurrence or palliation, respectively (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Gastrointestinal surgery is frequently indicated during operations for ovarian cancer. Gynecologic cancer surgeons should be trained accordingly. Patients with possibly malignant ovarian masses should receive preoperative bowel preparation and be counseled that bowel surgery may be needed but colostomy is not frequently required.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to correlate the pathologic characteristics of pelvic lymph node metastases with survival, recurrence, and patterns of recurrence in endometrial cancer. METHODS: Sixty patients with epithelial endometrial cancer and pelvic node metastasis were managed surgically between 1984 and 1993 at the Mayo Clinic. The mean number of nodes harvested was 16.7 and the mean number of nodes positive was 3.0. Mean follow-up was 45.5 months. The pathologic patterns of lymph node metastases were characterized. RESULTS: Outcome was related to pathologic patterns of pelvic node metastasis. Both diameter of lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01) and capsular integrity (P < or = 0.01) influenced 5-year disease-related survival and 5-year progression-free survival. The percentage of biopsied pelvic lymph nodes harboring metastatic disease and the proportion of the involved lymph nodes occupied by tumor significantly influenced death rates and recurrence rates (P < 0.05). The immune response and the absolute number of positive pelvic nodes did not impact recurrence or survival. The above characteristics of pelvic node metastasis correlated also with patterns of recurrence. Regression analysis indicated that capsular integrity (RR = 2.97; P = 0.005) and proportion of positive pelvic nodes biopsied (RR = 3.84; P = 0.01) were significant predictors of recurrence, whereas diameter of metastasis (RR = 3.68; P = 0.02) and proportion of positive pelvic nodes biopsied (RR = 4.04; P = 0.02) were most predictive of survival. CONCLUSIONS: The pathologic patterns of pelvic node metastasis appear to be significantly related to survival, recurrence, and patterns of recurrence.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the predictors of hematogenous dissemination (HD) in corpus cancer. METHODS: In 612 corpus cancer patients managed surgically, we defined HD as tumor spread to the lung, liver, or other sites via hematogenous routes. RESULTS: We observed 142 instances of tumor spread-71 nonhematogenous and 42 hematogenous to the lung, 9 to the liver, 5 to other sites (adrenals, breast, brain, bone, skin), 3 to both liver and lung, 1 to both lung and bone, and 11 to sites unknown. Stage IV disease, positive adnexae, deep myometrial invasion, primary tumor diameter, tumor involving the whole uterine cavity, positive peritoneal cytology, adjuvant radiotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, grade 3 histology, histologic subtype, and lymph-vascular invasion significantly (P < or = 0.01) correlated with HD. However, deep myometrial invasion was the only independent predictor of HD. Only 5% of patients with < or = 50% myometrial invasion had HD compared with 23% with > 50% myometrial invasion. Considering separately recurrence in the lung and in the liver and recurrence in other sites, the only independent predictors of lung recurrence were stage IV disease and myometrial invasion, whereas independent predictors of HD to the liver/other sites were age and histologic grade. Considering only the 60 patients with a known site of HD, 67% with lung recurrence were > 65 years old compared with 17% with HD to the liver/other sites. Furthermore, grade 1-2 disease was observed in 65% of patients with lung recurrence compared with 27% with HD to the liver/other sites. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of deep myometrial invasion was the strongest predictor of HD in corpus cancer, and, together with stage IV disease, it independently predicted lung recurrence. Recurrence in the lung was more frequent in older patients with well or moderately differentiated tumors, whereas HD to the liver/other sites was more frequent in patients < or = 65 years of age harboring grade 3 tumors.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this work was to assess different patterns of lymphatic spread to pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes (LNs) in endometrial cancer as a function of the location of tumor within the uterus. METHODS: Between 1984 and 1999, 625 patients with endometrial cancer were managed with hysterectomy and node dissection at our institution. The present study includes the 112 (18%) patients who had positive pelvic and/or para-aortic LNs; 41 (37%) of them had cervical involvement. RESULTS: The external iliac was the most commonly involved pelvic LN site both in patients with tumor limited to the corpus and in those with cervical invasion. Isolated pelvic LN metastases to a single site were more frequently observed in external iliac LNs and obturator LNs in patients with tumor confined to the uterine corpus, whereas they occurred more commonly in external iliac and common iliac LNs in patients with cervical involvement. Metastasis to the common iliac LNs was more frequent in patients with disease extension to the cervix. In fact, common iliac LNs were positive in 67% of patients with cervical invasion, compared with only 30% of those with tumor confined to the uterine corpus (P < 0.01). Para-aortic LN invasion was significantly associated with obturator LN status. In fact, para-aortic LNs were positive in 64% of patients with positive obturator LNs compared with 23% of patients with negative obturator LNs (P = 0.01). All patients with positive para-aortic LNs and tumor invading the cervix had positive common iliac LNs. By contrast, when tumor was limited to the corpus, common iliac LNs were involved in only 27% of patients with positive para-aortic LNs. CONCLUSION: External iliac LNs are the most commonly involved LNs in endometrial cancer. Compared with carcinomas limited to the uterine corpus, endometrial cancers invading the cervix spread more readily to the common iliac LNs. Furthermore, these data suggest that para-aortic LN metastases spread via a route shared by the common iliac LNs when tumor involves the cervix but spread predominantly via a route common to the obturator LNs (and/or external iliac LNs) when the primary tumor site is the corpus only.
BACKGROUND: Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder may spread superficially along and beyond the urogenital epithelium, mimicking vulvar Paget's disease. CASES: These two cases illustrate unusual aspects of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and vulvar Paget's disease. Both patients had a history of breast cancer and previously had multiple operations for recurrent vulvar Paget's disease; one patient had a radical vulvectomy with transverse rectus abdominal muscle flap reconstruction. Both had a history of recurrent transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Both presented with recalcitrant transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and clinically recurrent vulvar Paget's disease. Pathologic evaluation, however, revealed pagetoid spread of carcinoma in situ (CIS) throughout the urothelium, with an invasive component in the cervix and extension of the CIS into the rectum in one patient. CONCLUSION: If the history of the patient includes transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and vulvar Paget's disease, histologic evaluation is needed for accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this work was to assess retrospectively the role of wide/radical hysterectomy (RH) and pelvic lymph node dissection (LND) in endometrial cancer with cervical involvement. METHODS; From 1984 to 1993, 82 patients with endometrial cancer and cervical involvement were surgically managed at our institution. Of 57 patients with stage II (59%) or III (41%) disease receiving no preoperative therapy, 22 (39%) had simple hysterectomy (SH) and 35 (61%) had RH. Forty-four patients (77%) had pelvic LND, and 38 (67%) had adjuvant radiotherapy (RT). Median follow-up was 70 months. RESULTS: The 5-year disease-related survival (DRS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were 73 and 63%, respectively. Five-year DRS and RFS were 68 and 50%, respectively, in the SH group compared with 76% (P = 0.1) and 71% (P = 0.04) in the RH group. Distant recurrences occurred in 45% of patients with SH and in 23% with RH (P = 0.08). Local recurrence rates did not differ significantly. Considering only stage II tumors, we did not observe any recurrence among patients with negative nodes who had RH, irrespective of the administration of adjuvant RT. By contrast, adjuvant RT improved local control (even if not significantly) in stage II patients who had SH. Five-year DRS of stage III patients was 47%, but it was improved by adjuvant RT in the subgroup of patients who had RH. Independent variables associated with prognosis were stage III disease, deep myometrial invasion, RH, and adjuvant RT. CONCLUSION: RH and adjuvant RT appear to improve prognosis in endometrial cancer with cervical involvement. In particular, radical surgery alone is therapeutic in stage II patients with negative nodes, irrespective of the administration of RT. By contrast, RT can possibly improve local control in stage II patients who previously had SH. Overall, stage III patients have a poor prognosis that can be improved by a combination of radical surgery and adjuvant RT; however, associated therapy directed to extrapelvic sites is probably needed in patients with extrauterine disease.
Intravesical and urethral pressure signals during cough and Valsalva maneuvers for 15 continent women were analyzed with frequency spectrum analysis. Clear modulation of the urethral pressure changes by the intravesical pressure rise during stress maneuvers was demonstrated in the frequency bands of 14 and 7 Hz for cough and Valsalva, respectively. The linearity between the urethral and intravesical pressure signals was strong for cough, but relatively weaker for Valsalva. The observed linearity lead to the formulation of a modified continence equation to mathematically quantify stress leak point pressure (sLPP): sLPP=MUCP/(1-alpha1)+RBP. This algebraic equation demonstrated that sLPP depends on pressure transmission, resting bladder pressure, and maximum urethral closure pressure. The equation was validated with excellent theoretical predictions for the 15 continent subjects (R(2)=0.98 and 0.97 for cough and Valsalva leak point pressure, respectively) and good but somewhat weaker predictions for 46 stress incontinent women (R(2)=0.79 and 0.48, respectively). It has been shown that pressure transmission plays the most important role in female continence function, while it may be attributable to passive structural origin as evidenced by the minimal time delay between the two pressure signals, in the order of a few milliseconds. It can be concluded that coughing seems to have a more mechanical, rather than neuromuscular basis for its signal dynamics. This study suggests that a complete assessment of female stress continence function requires comprehensive urodynamic information in terms of pressure transmission, maximum urethral closure pressure, and resting bladder pressure.
OBJECTIVES: Depression is a common and treatable condition among nursing facility residents, with low body weight being a frequent concomitant concern. A common prescribing dictum is that older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) enhance appetite and may facilitate weight gain, while newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) cause anorexia and resultant weight loss in older adults. Evidence is lacking on whether the small weight changes noted during short-term antidepressant efficacy trials translate into larger weight changes during prolonged treatment periods. Our main objective was to compare weight outcomes at 6 months among users of three different antidepressant groups with a control group of non-antidepressant users. A secondary objective was to determine whether antidepressant selection was associated with weight pattern before drug initiation, to capture possible prescribing bias that would affect study inferences. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort design using the Minimum Data Set--Plus (MDS+). SETTING: Kansas nursing facilities. PARTICIPANTS: 1,157 antidepressant users age 65 and older who started an antidepressant after admission and remained on the same single agent for at least 6 months, and 4,852 persons meeting the same inclusion/exclusion criteria but not receiving an antidepressant. MEASUREMENTS: Antidepressant use was identified by drug code data and divided into four groups for analysis: TCAs, SSRIs, others, and none. (Amitriptyline and trazodone were excluded because of frequent use for nondepression purposes.) Rates of clinically important loss and gain (assigned for a 10% change from baseline weight or presence of the significant loss or gain markers on the 6-month MDS assessment) and mean weight changes were compared across the four groups. Regression models were used to control for age, gender, baseline weight, confounding comorbidity, and functional variables related to eating. Previous weight patterns (loss, gain, neither, or unknown) before antidepressant initiation were compared across drug groups. RESULTS: Clinically important weight loss and gain occurred at 6 months in 14.8% and 14.4% of the sample, respectively. In unadjusted analyses, an increased likelihood of loss was found for users of SSRIs (Odds Ratio 1.57; CI 1.30, 1.90) and others (OR 1.89; CI 1.18, 3.03), compared with none. In logistic models accounting for potential confounding factors, however, SSRI use showed a modest association with gain (OR 1.31, CI 1.01, 1.70) and a trend toward a similarly modest association with loss (OR 1.28; CI 0.995, 1.64). TCA use was not associated with weight gain. When weight was examined as a continuous variable, all groups demonstrated a broad range of both loss and gain with mean-unadjusted weight changes < 3 pounds. Pairwise comparisons of adjusted differences in weight change at 6 months for SSRIs (mean loss of 1.6 pounds) and TCAs (mean gain of 0.4 pounds) were of marginal importance (P = .046) given the large sample size. No evidence was found for prescribing bias based on prior weight pattern. CONCLUSIONS: TCAs do not facilitate weight gain more than other antidepressant groups and SSRIs are not associated disproportionately with weight loss when other important clinical variables are accounted for. Small but statistically significant differences in mean weight changes between groups are largely a reflection of large sample size rather than clinically important differences. Clinicians may wish to reconsider the widely held notions that TCAs facilitate weight gain and that SSRIs place depressed older nursing facility residents at disproportionate risk for weight loss.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the messenger RNA expression patterns of estrogen receptor (ER)alpha and ER beta in human vaginal tissue. STUDY DESIGN: Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was performed on tissue samples of 75 patients having anterior colporrhaphy (25 premenopausal, 25 postmenopausal receiving estrogen replacement therapy [ERT], 25 postmenopausal not receiving ERT). Levels of mRNA were normalized and ratios were calculated to assess relative levels of expression. RESULTS: All samples showed expression of the ER alpha isoform. Significant differences existed in ER alpha expression among the 3 cohorts (P =.023). Greater differences (P <.001) existed in ER beta expression. For both isoforms, the premenopausal group had the highest level, and the postmenopausal group receiving ERT had the lowest level. No significant difference in ER beta expression existed between postmenopausal groups. CONCLUSION: Significant differences exist between premenopausal and postmenopausal women in presence and expression of ER alpha and ER beta in vaginal tissue. Expression of ER beta markedly declines in menopause, regardless of ERT use.
The role of surgery in the management of primary and recurrent ovarian cancer is reviewed. The data to support primary and secondary cytoreduction are summarized. The role of second-look surgery and of surgery in the palliation of ovarian cancer is also discussed.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of metastases to lymph nodes and long-term results of radical and modified radical surgery in patients with a T1 squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva and </=1 mm of invasion. METHODS: A retrospective review of 40 patients with T1 squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva and </=1 mm of invasion was performed. The clinical, pathologic, surgical, and follow-up data were abstracted from the patients' records. All slides were reviewed by two pathologists according to previously established guidelines. The overall mean follow-up was 7.6 years. RESULTS: Vulvar recurrence developed in 2 patients (5-year rate, 5.9%). There were no groin recurrences among 10 patients undergoing groin lymphadenectomy. One of the 30 patients (10-year rate, 6.7%) without groin dissection developed groin metastases at 7.5 years, subsequent to an invasive vulvar recurrence. The 5- and 10-year cause-specific survivals were 100 and 94.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: T1 squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva with </=1 mm of invasion was associated with a low risk of vulvar recurrence and no groin node metastases. A low risk of subsequent groin node metastasis exists in patients developing an invasive vulvar recurrence. Long-term follow-up of these patients is recommended. Lesser forms of vulvar excision, such as wide local excision, were equally effective as radical vulvectomy for the prevention of vulvar recurrences. Patients treated by radical vulvar surgery experienced increased postoperative complications compared with patients treated by less radical surgery.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the potential therapeutic role of para-aortic lymphadenectomy (PAL) in high-risk patients with endometrial cancer. METHODS: We studied two groups of patients with endometrial cancer who underwent operation at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) during the interval 1984 to 1993: (1) 137 patients at high risk for para-aortic lymph node involvement (myometrial invasion >50%, palpable positive pelvic nodes, or positive adnexae), excluding stage IV disease, and (2) 51 patients with positive nodes (pelvic or para-aortic), excluding stage IV disease. By our definition, PAL required removal of five or more para-aortic nodes. RESULTS: In both groups, no significant difference existed between patients who had PAL (PAL+) and those who did not (PAL-) in regard to clinical or pathologic variables, percentage irradiated, or surgical or radiation complications. Among the 137 high-risk patients, the 5-year progression-free survival was 62% and the 5-year overall survival was 71% for the PAL- group compared with 77 and 85%, respectively, for the PAL+ group (P = 0.12 and 0.06, respectively). For the 51 patients with positive nodes, the 5-year progression-free survival and 5-year overall survival for the PAL- group were 36 and 42% compared with 76 and 77% for the PAL+ group (P = 0.02 and 0.05, respectively). Lymph node recurrences were detected in 37% of the PAL- patients but in none of the PAL+ patients (P = 0.01). Multivariate analysis suggested that submission to PAL was a cogent predictor of progression-free survival (odds ratio = 0.25; P = 0.01) and overall survival (odds ratio = 0.23; P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a potential therapeutic role for formal PAL in endometrial cancer.
OBJECTIVE: Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma is an uncommon, indolent uterine sarcoma that can arise in extrauterine locations. The objective of this study was to report on a previously unpublished site of origin for a low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. METHODS: A case of a low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma arising in the ectocervix after goserelin hormonal therapy for breast cancer was studied. RESULTS: Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma can arise in the ectocervix even in the absence of endometriosis. CONCLUSION: Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of sarcomas of the ectocervix.
OBJECTIVE: Endometriosis is extremely common in developed countries. Obesity is a major health concern and may cause hyperestrogenism. Hormonal replacement, particularly unopposed estrogens after hysterectomy, is becoming popular. Because endometriosis is ectopic endometrium, hyperestrogenism (either endogenous or exogenous) may cause hyperplasia or transformation into cancer. This study was conducted to describe the main clinical and pathologic features of malignancies in endometriosis and define the treatment and outcome and to compare patients who had cancer arising in endometriosis with patients who had endometriosis but no cancer. METHODS: Patients who had tumors from endometriosis diagnosed from 1986 to 1997 were analyzed retrospectively. Each patient was matched with two control patients (endometriosis without cancer) treated during the same study interval. Clinical and epidemiologic variables were compared to identify risk factors for the development of cancer. RESULT: We identified 31 patients with cancer developing from endometriosis. Fifteen women were obese, 9 had a history of endometriosis, and 9 were taking unopposed estrogen. Endometrioid adenocarcinoma was the most common histologic type (16 patients). When the patients with cancer were compared with controls, no significantly higher risk for the development of cancer was found with prolonged use of unopposed estrogens or with higher body mass index, but a trend was observed. When obesity and use of unopposed estrogens were considered together, the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Hyperestrogenism, either endogenous or exogenous, is a significant risk factor for the development of cancer from endometriosis. The prevalences of endometriosis, obesity, and use of hormonal replacement therapy in women in developed countries are increasing, and this trend justifies the assumption that cancer developing in endometriosis might become more common in the future.
BACKGROUND: Desmoid tumors are neoplasms characterized by proliferation of fibroblasts without cytologic features of malignancy. Although desmoid tumors are not uncommon, pelvic desmoid tumors are rare and therapeutically challenging. We describe the surgical management of seven patients with histologically confirmed desmoid tumors arising in the pelvis. STUDY DESIGN: All patients, six with primary and one with recurrent desmoid tumors of the female pelvis, were treated at Mayo Clinic Rochester between 1976 and 1997. The mean age of one African-American and six Caucasian patients was 29.8 years (range 17 to 59 years). No history of previous relevant pelvic trauma was identified; six patients experienced pelvic or leg pain (or both). All patients presented with isolated masses; five of seven were located left of the midline, generally involving the obturator internis or levator muscles (or both). The surgical approach was transabdominal, with a vaginal component in one patient. In addition to this retrospective review of these seven patients, literature addressing the management of desmoid tumors of the female pelvis is reviewed. RESULTS: Extirpative surgery necessitated resection of musculoskeletal, vascular, or adjacent soft tissue structures. Mean tumor diameter was 13.9cm (range 5 to 27 cm). Although the median recorded blood loss was 1,425mL, one patient who refused blood products died secondary to surgical hemorrhage. The median followup for the remaining evaluable patients was 57 months (range 13 to 249 months). Recurrent disease developed in 3 of 6 patients at 3, 11, and 13 months after surgical resection and was successfully managed with subsequent reoperations, with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although recent reports demonstrate selective regression of desmoid tumors with antiestrogen therapy, management of symptomatic pelvic desmoid tumors in young women may necessitate an operation. In our series, all primary and recurrent tumors were managed with resection of involved bone and other adjacent soft tissues. The role of adjunctive radiotherapy or hormonal therapy remains to be defined.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to find readily ascertainable intraoperative pathologic indicators that would discriminate a subgroup of early corpus cancers that would not require lymphadenectomy or adjuvant radiotherapy. STUDY DESIGN: Between 1984 and 1993, a total of 328 patients with endometrioid corpus cancer, grade 1 or 2 tumor, myometrial invasion < or =50%, and no intraoperative evidence of macroscopic extrauterine spread were treated surgically. Pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed in 187 cases (57%), and nodes were positive in nine cases (5%). Adjuvant radiotherapy was administered to 65 patients (20%). Median follow-up was 88 months. RESULTS: The 5-year overall cancer-related and recurrence-free survivals were 97% and 96%, respectively. Primary tumor diameter and lymphatic or vascular invasion significantly affected longevity. No patient with tumor diameter < or =2 cm had positive lymph nodes or died of disease. CONCLUSION: Patients who have International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics grade 1 or 2 endometrioid corpus cancer with greatest surface dimension < or =2 cm, myometrial invasion < or =50%, and no intraoperative evidence of macroscopic disease can be treated optimally with hysterectomy only.
Results of repeated peripheral blood chromosome studies were normal in a boy with intrauterine growth retardation, short stature, moderate mental retardation, and multiple minor anomalies. At age 9 years it was recognized that the swirls of pigmentation/depigmentation on his trunk, linear streaks on his limbs, and body asymmetry were suggestive of chromosomal mosaicism. Four skin biopsies were obtained under anesthesia during a dental procedure. All showed mosaicism for a normal cell line, a line with an extra chromosome 7, and a cell line with an extra small ring. In one biopsy, there was a fourth cell line with an extra chromosome 7 and the ring. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a chromosome 7 paint confirmed trisomy 7 and the chromosome 7 derivation of the ring. This young man's intra-uterine and postnatal growth retardation is an aneuploidy effect, whereas his asymmetry reflects a mosaicism effect that should have aroused suspicion of tissue-limited mosaicism before the development of obvious Blaschkolinear skin pigmentary dysplasia.