Uterine Involvement Research Articles

An Asian multi-national multi-institutional retrospective study comparing intracavitary versus the hybrid of intracavitary and interstitial brachytherapy for locally advanced uterine cervical carcinoma.

This study is an international multi-institutional retrospective study comparing the clinical outcomes between intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) and the hybrid of intracavitary and interstitial brachytherapy (HBT) for locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with definitive radiation therapy. Locally advanced cervical cancer, the initial size of which is larger than 4 cm and treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy and image-guided adaptive brachytherapy, were eligible for this retrospective study. Patients who received HBT at least once were included in the HBT group, and patients who received only ICBT were included in the ICBT group. Anonymized data from 469 patients from 13 institutions in Japan, one from Korea and one from Thailand, were analyzed. Two hundred eighty and 189 patients were included in the ICBT group and the HBT group, respectively. Patients in the HBT group had more advanced stage, non-Scc histopathology, a higher rate of uterine body involvement, larger tumor at diagnosis, larger tumor before brachytherapy and a lower tumor reduction ratio. With a median follow-up of 51.3 months (2.1–139.9 months), 4-y local control (LC), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for the entire patient population were 88.2%, 64.2% and 83%, respectively. The HBT group received a higher HR-CTV D90 than that of the ICBT group (68.8 Gy vs 65.6 Gy, P = 0.001). In multivariate analysis, the non-Scc histological subtype, HR-CTV D95 ≤ 60 Gy, reduction ratio ≤ 29% and total treatment time (TTT) ≥ 9 weeks were identified as the independent adverse prognostic factors for LC. Regarding LC, no difference was found between ICBT and HBT (4-y LC 89.3% vs 86.8%, P = 0.314). After adjustment for confounding factors by propensity score matching, no advantage of applying HBT was demonstrated regarding LC, PFS, or OS. Despite the fact that HBT patients had more adverse clinical factors than ICBT patients, HBT delivered a higher dose to HR-CTV and resulted in comparable LC.

The Association between Lower Uterine Segment Involvement in Corpus Located Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma with the (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) Grade and Stage

BACKGROUND: Although lower uterine segment (LUS) is regarded as an anatomically defined part that possess some histological differences, it is involvement by carcinoma have not been included in the criteria for definition in the staging system for endometrial carcinoma and there are few conflicting data focused on the effect of LUS involvement as a prognostic factor in endometrial cancer. AIM: To find the association between LUS involvement in corpus located endometrioid carcinoma with the grading and staging system established by the international federation of gynecology and obstetrics (FIGO). METHODS: This was a retrospective study involving data collected from achieves of histopathology departments of teaching laboratories within successive 4 years period in Medical City complex at Bagdad. Pathological analysis of 70 hysterectomy specimens of corpus located endometriod adenocarcinoma was done, histological sections from each case of endometrioid adenocarcinoma carcinoma were microscopically reviewed for appropriate grading and staging, in addition, meticulous search was applied for histological finding consistent with LUS involvement. The statistical comparison between the results was done using either independent sample t-test (for continuous data; mean ± SD) or Chi-square test at a significant p < 0.05. RESULTS: The study enrolled 70 histological samples of endometrioid adenocarcinoma, the majority of the samples were of low grade and stage at presentation. Of total sample, 46 (65.71%) showed LUS involvement by tumor cells. There was a significant statistical relationship between LUS involvement and FIGO stage while a non-significant statistical association with FIGO grade was found. CONCLUSION: LUS involvement by corpus located endometrioid adenocarcinoma is associated with an advanced FIGO stage at presentation while non-significant relationship was found between patient age and tumor grade.

Screening of Lynch syndrome in endometrial cancer in Iranian population with mismatch repair protein by immunohistochemistry.

Lynch syndrome (LS) is one of the commonest genetic cancer syndromes, with an incidence rate of 1 per 250-1000 population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of MMR deficiency in endometrial cancer in Iranian women. One hundred endometrial carcinoma cases who referred to the gynecological oncology clinic of Imam Hossein Medical Center located in Tehran, Iran, from 2018 to 2020 were included in the study. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) evaluation was performed mainly on the hysterectomy specimens of all endometrial cancer (EC) patients to assess MMR proteins (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2) expression. A total of 23 out of 100 (23%) cases were identified through IHC screening to be MMR-deficient. The most common types were loss of MLH1/PMS2 (17.4%) and solitary MSH2 (17.4%) expressions followed by PMS2/MSH2 loss (13%). MMR deficiency (dMMR) histopathology was significantly overrepresented in patients with family history of cancer or Lynch syndrome (LS) associated cancers (p-values of 0.016 and 0.005, respectively). The rate of myometrial invasion and lower uterine segment involvement were also significantly higher in dMMR EC patients compared to MMR-intact EC (p-value of 0.021 and 0.018, respectively). MMR deficiency, observed in 23% of endometrial cancer cases, was associated with higher rates of poor prognostic factors including myometrial invasion and lower uterine segment involvement. The presence of positive family history of cancer and family history of LS-associated cancer increased the probability of MMR-deficiency in endometrioid endometrial cancer to 47% and 70%, respectively.

Increased risk of obstetric complications in patients with adenomyosis: A narrative literature review.

BackgroundReproductive‐age women occasionally face the pathological condition of adenomyosis, which is often concurrent with endometriosis. It is believed that endometriosis and adenomyosis increases the risk of obstetric complications. Although new insights into the mechanism of obstetric complications due to endometriosis are emerging, there is little information on the etiology of adverse pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with adenomyosis.MethodsWe performed a literature review focusing on the pathophysiological pathways of obstetric complications in women with adenomyosis using currently available basic and clinical studies. We used the internet search engines PubMed and Google Scholar to search for studies published between January 2000 and June 2021. We carefully read pertinent sections within each document to ensure relevancy.Main findingsThe prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with adenomyosis is increased after adjusting for conceiving by assisted reproductive technology. Thus, adenomyosis emerges as a relevant factor associated with several obstetric complications such as preterm birth, preterm premature rupture of membranes, placental abruption, small for gestational age/fetal growth restriction, and preeclampsia.ConclusionIt is plausible that the impact of adenomyosis on pregnancy outcomes is not always the same; rather it is dependent on the degree of uterine involvement and subtypes.

Uterine involvement in epithelial ovarian cancer and its risk factors

BackgroundEpithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is an extremely aggressive and lethal carcinoma. Specific data that identify high-risk groups with uterine involvement are not available. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate a gross number of women with EOC to obtain the frequency of uterine involvement and its risk factors.MethodsThis retrospective observational study was conducted on 1900 histologically confirmed EOC women, diagnosed and treated in our tertiary hospital from March 2009 to September 2020. Data including their demographic, medical and pathological findings were collected.ResultsFrom 1900 histologically confirmed EOC women, 347 patients were eligible for participations. The mean age of study patients was 51.31 ± 11.37 years with the age range of 25 to 87 years. Uterine involvement was detected in 49.6% (173) of the patients either macroscopic (47.4%) or microscopic (52.6%) types.Uterine involvement was significantly associated with having AUB (P-value = 0.002), histological type of ovary tumor (P-value < 0.001), ovarian cancer stage (P-value < 0.001), and abnormal CA-125 concentration (P-value = 0.004).Compared to the other study patient, the patients with metastatic uterine involvement had significantly higher stage (p-value< 0.001), higher grade of ovary tumor (p-value = 0.008), serous histological type (p-value< 0.001), and a higher level of CA-125 concentration (p-value< 0.001).on the other hand, the patients with synchronous uterine cancer were significantly younger (p-value = 0.013), nulliparous (p-value< 0.001), suffered from AUB symptoms (p-value< 0.001) and had endometroid histological type (p-value = 0.010) of ovary cancer in comparison to other study patients.ConclusionConsidering the high prevalence of uterine involvement in EOC patients, ultrasound evaluation and/or endometrium biopsy assessment should be done before planning any treatment.

Diffusion-weighted MRI at 3T in Endometrial Cancer: Correlation of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient with Histopathological Prognostic Parameters

To evaluate the value of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for the differentiation of histological subtypes in endometrial cancer, and to assess if ADC values correlate with histopathological parameters.Descriptive study.Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University between January 2016 and December 2019.Eighty-three patients (mean age: 60.28 ± 9.07) with endometrial cancer underwent diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) at 3T before surgery. The mean ADC (ADCmean) and minimum ADC (ADCmin) values of the tumours were assessed to predict histological subtype of endometrial cancer, grade of tumour, presence of myometrial invasion, lower uterine segment involvement, cervical involvement, lymphovascular invasion, and lymph node metastasis.Sixty patients (72.3%) were diagnosed with endometrioid carcinoma, and 23 patients (27.7%) were diagnosed with non-endometrioid carcinoma. The median ADCmean/ADCmin of endometrioid and non-endometrioid tumours were 0.72/0.58 ×10-3 mm2/s and 0.82/0.63 ×10-3 mm2/s, respectively. ADCmean and ADCmin were significantly different between endometrioid and non-endometrioid tumours (p=0.016 and p=0.048). For the endometrioid carcinomas, ADCmean and ADCmin were significantly different between low-grade (G1 and G2) and high-grade (G3) tumours (ADCmean/ADCmin = 0.75/0.65 vs. 0.59/0.49 x10-3 mm2/s, p=0.010 and p=0.013). Myometrial invasion, lymphovascular invasion, cervical involvement, lower uterine involvement, serosal involvement and lymph node metastasis were not significantly associated with ADC values.ADC measurements were useful for differentiating endometrioid and non-endometrioid carcinomas. High-grade endometrioid carcinomas had significantly lower ADC values compared to low-grade ones. Key Words: Endometrial cancer, Diffusion-weighted MRI, Apparent diffusion coefficient, Prognostic factors, Histological grade.

Minimally invasive approach in endometrial cancer with lower uterine segment involvement in stage ≥ II: A retrospective study

ObjectiveTo compare oncological outcomes in women with lower uterine segment involvement (LUSI) in endometrial carcinoma (EC) stage ≥ II - staged by a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) versus laparotomy. Study designA retrospective multi-center cohort study. Univariate analysis, Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox proportional hazard analysis were performed to compare between women staged by MIS and those staged by laparotomy. ResultsOver a median follow-up period of 3 years (interquartile range, 1.5–6 years) 212 women were included, 68 (32.1%) were surgically staged by MIS. Stages of disease did not vary between MIS and laparotomy and were 32.1%, 51.9%, and 16.0%, in stages II, III and IV – respectively. Adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy rate did not differ between groups. Overall recurrence rate was comparable (p = 0.084). Locoregional recurrence rate was higher in the MIS group odds ratio 2.17, 95% confidence interval 1.19–4.20).Overall and progression free survival were similar in both groups (log rank test p = 0.08 and p = 0.912 respectively). In Cox regression model adjusting for age, comorbidities, tumor grade, stage and adjuvant therapy, route of surgery (MIS vs. laparotomy) was not associated with overall survival (p = 0.169). ConclusionsIn women with advanced EC and LUSI, although MIS is associated with locoregional recurrences, survival is comparable to laparotomy.

Prognostic significance of pretreatment thrombocytosis in endometrial cancer: an Israeli Gynecologic Oncology Group study

ObjectiveEndometrial cancer prognosis is related to stage, histology, myometrial invasion, and lymphovascular space invasion. Several studies have examined the association between pretreatment thrombocytosis and patient outcomes with contrasting results regarding...

SARCOMATOID DIFFUSE LARGE B-CELL LYMPHOMA: A RARE MORPHOLOGICAL VARIANT WITH MULTI-VISCERAL INVOLVEMENT

Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most frequent subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), accounting for 50% of all NHL cases seen at HC-FMUSP. Up to 40-50% of DLBCL cases have extranodal involvement. However, female genital tract involvement is very rare, accounting for less than 0.5% of cases. Spindle/sarcomatoid cell neoplasms usually have mesenchymal histogenesis, however rare cases of aggressive NHL with a spindle-shaped morphological aspect have been recently described, although this variant is still not fully recognized as a specific pathological entity. To describe a rare case of DLBCL with primary uterine cervix involvement, and sarcomatoid morphological pattern, as well as multi-visceral involvement. We intend to highlight the importance of recognizing this entity in the differential diagnosis of spindle-shaped malignant neoplasms. A 51-year-old woman, with no previous comorbidities, sought medical service at the HC-FMUSP due to a vulvovaginal tumor with progressive growth over the last 12 months. Gynecological examination showed an ulcerated tumor in the cervix, extending to the vaginal cavity and exteriorizing through the vulvar introitus. Computed tomography showed a 7 cm tumor mass in the cervix and pathological bone fracture of the L3 vertebra. A biopsy of the uterine cervix showed atypical fusiform cell proliferation, inferring a diagnosis of uterine leiomyosarcoma. However, bone biopsy showed proliferation of large atypical lymphoid cells, suggestive of NHL. Immunohistochemical study of both samples revealed: Ki67+ (80%), CD45+, PAX-5+, diffuse staining for CD20+, BCL-6+, CD79a+, CD30+, with negativity for epithelial and mesenchymal lineage markers. 18-FDG-PETCT revealed involvement of lymph nodes, bones, liver, kidney, thyroid, breasts and bulky in the female genital tract. Diagnosis of DLBCL sarcomatoid variant was established and therapy was scheduled with 6 x R-CHOP, 3 cycles of 3 g/m 2 methotrexate for CNS prophylaxis and uterine cervix radiotherapy depending on residual uptake on PET-CT after chemotherapy. She is currently after 1st. R-CHOP cycle. Sarcomatoid variant of DLBCL is rare and already recognized as a morphological variant of DLBCL NOS by WHO-2016 Classification. The explanation for the occurrence of fusiform neoplastic cells remains unclear, but it is believed that tumor stromal fibrosis can justify deformation of the cell membrane of neoplastic cells, giving the sarcomatoid aspect. Its clinical significance, as well as prognostic impact, have not been established, nor has there been any definition of the need for therapy different from conventional treatment based on anthracyclines (R-CHOP). We described a case of uterine cervix sarcomatoid DLBCL, a rare entity that establishes a differential diagnosis with sarcomas of the female genital tract. Although it is an isolated case, our patient had multivisceral involvement and high-risk IPI, leading us to infer that this morphological variant may be related to greater biological aggressiveness, high tumor burden and poor outcomes, but this needs to be validated with description of other cases and cases series.

The prognostic factors in 384 patients with FIGO 2014 stage IB cervical cancer: What is the role of tumor size on prognosis?

ObjectiveTo define the relationship of tumor size with surgico-pathological factors and oncological outcome in FIGO 2014 stage IB cervical cancer. MethodsThis study retrospectively evaluated 384 FIGO 2014 Stage IB cervical cancer patients who underwent radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy. Tumor size was stratified according to 2 cm (≤ 2cm, 2-≤4 cm, >4 cm) and 4 cm (≤4 cm, >4 cm), and the relationship with poor prognostic factors, and the effects on survival were examined. The distribution of prognostic factors was compared between three subgroups: ≤2 cm vs. 2-≤4 cm; 2-≤4 cm vs. > 4 cm and ≤ 2 cm vs. > 4 cm. Survival rate was evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional-hazards regression. ResultsStratification of tumor size according to 4 cm was found to better determine pelvic lymph node determination. Parametrial involvement, uterine involvement and deep cervical stromal invasion were correlated with increasing tumor size. Lymph node involvement and uterine involvement were an independent prognostic risk factor for recurrence and cancer-specific survival. Tumor size showed no association with prognosis. ConclusionThere is no meaningful cut-off value for tumor size determining all surgico-pathological factors. There was also seen to be no association between tumor size and recurrence or disease-related mortality.

Accuracy of Ultrasonography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Preoperative Staging of Cervical Cancer-Analysis of Patients from the Prospective Study on Total Mesometrial Resection.

We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of ultrasonography with gynecologic examination performed by a gynecological oncologist and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpreted by a radiologist for the local and regional staging of patients with early-stage cervical cancer. The study was a single-site sub-analysis of the multi-institutional prospective, observational Total Mesometrial Resection (TMMR) Register Study, which included all consecutive study patients from Gdynia Oncology Center. Imaging results were compared with pathology findings. A total of 58 consecutive patients were enrolled, and 50 underwent both ultrasonography and MRI. The accuracy of tumor detection and measurement errors was comparable across ultrasonography and MRI. There were no significant differences between ultrasonography and MRI in the accuracy of detecting parametrial involvement (92%, confidence interval (CI) 84–100% vs. 76%, CI 64–88%, p = 0.3), uterine corpus infiltration (94%, CI 87–100% vs. 86%, CI 76–96%, p = 0.3), and vaginal fornix involvement (96%, CI 91–100% vs. 76%, CI 64–88%, p = 0.3). The importance of uterine corpus involvement for the first-line lymph node metastases was presented in few cases. The accuracy of ultrasonography was higher than MRI for correctly predicting tumor stage: International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)–2018: 69%, CI 57–81% vs. 42%, CI 28–56%, p = 0.002, T (from TNM system): 79%, CI 69–90% vs. 52%, CI 38–66%, p = 0.0005, and ontogenetic tumor staging: 88%, CI 80–96% vs. 70%, CI 57–83%, p = 0.005. For patients with cervical cancer who are eligible for TMMR and therapeutic lymphadenectomy, the accuracy of ultrasonography performed by gynecological oncologists is not inferior to that of MRI interpreted by a radiologist for assessing specific local parameters, and is more accurate for local staging of the disease and is thus more clinically useful for planning adequate surgical treatment.

Endometrial cancer in Lynch syndrome.

Lynch syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant inherited disease caused by germline pathogenic variants (PVs) in mismatch repair (MMR) genes. LS-associated endometrial cancer (LS-EC) is the most common extraintestinal sentinel cancer caused by germline PVs in MMR genes, including MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2. The clinicopathologic features of LS-EC include early age of onset, lower body mass index (BMI), endometrioid carcinoma and lower uterine segment involvement. There has been significant progress in screening, diagnosis, surveillance, prevention and treatment of LS-EC. Many studies support universal screening for LS among patients with EC. Screening mainly involves a combination of traditional clinical criteria and molecular techniques, including MMR-immunohistochemistry (MMR-IHC), microsatellite instability (MSI) testing, MLH1 promoter methylation testing and gene sequencing. The effectiveness of endometrial biopsy and transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) for clinical monitoring of asymptomatic women with LS are uncertain yet. Preventive strategies include hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) as well as chemoprophylaxis using exogenous progestin or aspirin. Recent research has revealed the benefits of immunotherapy for LS-EC. The NCCN guidelines recommend pembrolizumab and nivolumab for treating patients with advanced or recurrent microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) EC.

Ovarian Metastasis by Gastric-type Endocervical Adenocarcinoma: A Clinicopathologic Description of 12 Cases.

Cervical gastric-type adenocarcinoma has a propensity for ovarian metastasis, but the clinicopathologic findings and possible routes of tumor spread have not been well characterized to date. To address these points, we reported 12 cervical gastric-type adenocarcinomas with ovarian metastases from a single institution. Seven patients with gastric-type adenocarcinoma had concurrent endometrial fallopian tube involvement, 5 of which showed tumors confined to the fallopian tube mucosa. Two of these 5 patients died of disease at 2 and 16 mo, and 1 recurred at 18 mo. In the remaining 5 patients, 3 had wide pelvic/peritoneal spread while the other 2 showed no evidence of uterine or tubal involvement. Among them, 1 died of disease at 94 mo, and another relapsed at 20 mo. Morphologically, ovarian tumors frequently had surface involvement consistent with metastasis, but also mimicked a primary tumor with a mixture of benign/borderline/intraepithelial carcinoma-like areas, as well as carcinoma with expansile or destructive stromal invasion. The tubal lesions were predominantly in the form of mucosal colonization without invasion of the underlying structures. Block p16 and high-risk human papillomavirus mRNA signals were not detected in cervical gastric-type adenocarcinomas and ovarian metastatic tumors. We conclude that fallopian tube spread may be associated with ovarian metastasis of cervical gastric-type adenocarcinomas that have bad clinical outcomes. Ovarian involvement may be a part of the aggressive nature of these tumors.

Utility of lymphadenectomy in mucinous ovarian carcinoma

Objectives: Mucinous ovarian carcinoma is a rare subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer that, when grossly confined to the ovary, is rarely upstaged after surgical lymph node staging based on relatively small case series. While typically full nodal staging is recommended in all epithelial ovarian cancers, this retrospective data calls into question the risk/benefit ratio of complete surgical staging in mucinous ovarian carcinoma. Given the small numbers of reported fully staged mucinous ovarian cancers, our objective was to report our institution's experience. Methods: Patients at University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics with a histologic diagnosis of mucinous ovarian cancer who underwent complete lymphadenectomy were identified in the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Registry between 2000 - 2018. Patient charts were reviewed for demographic, diagnostic, surgical and treatment data. Results: A total of 70 patients were identified with primary mucinous ovarian cancer who underwent surgical nodal staging. All 70 patients underwent complete pelvic lymph node dissection and most (95.7%, n=67) also underwent paraaortic nodal dissection. The median patient age was 54 years and mean tumor size was 20.2 cm. Tumor grades were Grade 1 (40.8%, n=29); Grade 2 (21.1% n=15) and Grade 3 (21.2%, n=15). Most were not categorized as expansile vs. infiltrative type, as this terminology has been more recently adopted. A total of 67 patients had disease confined to the ovary, and 3 had nodal metastases. Of the three patients with nodal involvement, one had obvious metastatic disease at the time of surgery with uterine involvement, omental involvement, and bulky lymphadenopathy. Another had areas of undifferentiated carcinoma within the underlying mucinous carcinoma; the undifferentiated carcinoma was the histologic pattern identified in the lymph nodes. Only one patient with disease intraoperatively confined to the ovary with a purely mucinous histology had nodal involvement. Within 1 month of her staging surgery, this patient was subsequently found to have biopsy proven bony metastases to the iliac, lumbar and sacrum. On retrospective review of her surgical pathology, this was classified as an infiltrative type mucinous carcinoma and pathology would have recommended additional stains to rule out pancreatic or other primary malignancy. Of our 68 patients with intraoperative disease confined to the ovary and pure mucinous histology, only one had nodal metastasis (1.5%) and it did not affect her treatment plan due to short interval development of widely metastatic disease. Download : Download high-res image (234KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusions: This is the largest case series of fully staged mucinous ovarian cancer patients to date and supports that mucinous ovarian carcinoma grossly confined to the ovary is rarely upstaged by nodal staging and unlikely to change management. It is therefore reasonable to omit lymphadenectomy in early mucinous ovarian carcinoma.

What is the impact of corpus uterine invasion on oncologic outcomes in surgically treated cervical cancer?

To investigate the clinical significance of uterine corpus involvement in patients with surgically treated cervical cancer. Patients (n=354) with clinical early-stage (stage IB1-IIA2) cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic ± paraaortic lymphadenectomy were evaluated. Uterine invasion was detected in 60 (16.9%) patients. Patients with uterine invasion had a higher rate of pelvic lymph node metastasis than those without uterine invasion (35% vs 22.8%, p=0.046). In multivariate analysis, no statistically significant difference was identified between patients with and without uterine invasion for pelvic lymph node metastasis (p=0.953). Uterine invasion was identified as an independent risk factor for paraaortic lymph node metastasis in multivariate analysis (p=0.012). The presence of pelvic lymph node metastasis was found to be another significant predictor of paraaortic lymph node involvement (p=0.022). In addition, uterine invasion and lymph node metastasis were identified as an independent risk factors regarding poor prognosis in cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.537; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.304-15.782; p=0.017 and HR: 5.598; 95% CI, 1.581-19.823; p=0.008, respectively). Uterine invasion is an independent predictor of decreased survival and the presence of paraaortic lymph node metastasis in cervical cancer. The presence of the uterine invasion in cervical cancer should be considered as a poor prognostic factor in the decision of treatment.

Uterine involvement by endometriosis: Sonographic features from elusive findings to apparent adenomyosis

ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study is to investigate whether there are any minor sonographic uterine findings, not typical for adenomyosis, in endometriosis patients. The secondary objective is to determine the prevalence of sonographic features of adenomyosis in an infertile population with endometriosis. Study designThe investigation was of 291 infertile women with endometriosis, either manifesting endometrioma (OMA) or diagnosed through laparoscopy, who were investigated for two‐dimensional transvaginal sonographic (2D-TVS) features of adenomyosis. These patients were grouped as either having endometriosis with adenomyosis (EwA,n = 121) or without adenomyosis (EwoA, n = 170). Additionally, patients without both endometriosis and 2D-TVS features of adenomyosis constituted the control group (n = 170). ResultsAt least one 2D-TVS feature of adenomyosis was detected in 41.6 % (n = 121) of women with endometriosis. Asymmetrical myometrial thickening of uterine walls (57.9 %), hyperechogenic islands (47.1 %), and fan-shaped shadowing (46.9 %) were relatively more prevalent 2D-TVS findings among EwA patients. Multiple OMA (p = 0.038), OMA ≥ 4 cm (p = 0.034), and total OMA volumes were found to be higher (p = 0.004) in the EwA group. Additionally, uterine volumes were found to be 96.7 cm3, 73.0 cm3, and 64.2 cm3 in the EwA, EwoA, and control groups, respectively (EwA vs EwoA, p < 0.001; EwoA vs control, p <0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that the presence of endometriosis was independently associated with an increase in uterine volume (β = 0.243, p < 0.001). ConclusionA stepwise and statistically significant volume increase from the control group to the EwoA and then to the EwA group may reflect a spectrum of uterine involvement in endometriosis. This might indicate that many uterine endometriosis cases are still hidden from view, possibly demonstrating an "iceberg phenomenon".

Grossly unremarkable cervix in endometrial carcinomas: lymphovascular space invasion and microcystic elongated and fragmented pattern may be associated with high incidence of cervical stromal involvement

Accurate staging of endometrial carcinoma is crucial to optimize patients' care. A pivotal parameter that pathologists evaluate to guide staging is the presence of cervical stromal involvement. However, the standard protocol for adequate sampling of the cervix is lacking. A total of 71 grossly unremarkable cervices in hysterectomy specimens with endometrial carcinomas have been studied. Sixty-three (89.7%), five (7.0%), and three (4.2%) were FIGO stage I, II, and III, respectively. Of 71 (8.5%) cases, 6 cases had cervical stromal involvement, among which, 4 (67%) showed endometrioid carcinoma (EC), 1 case of serous carcinoma, and 1 carcinosarcoma. Microcystic elongated and fragmented (MELF) pattern was identified in 12 (16.9%) cases, among which 11 were EC. The presence of MELF pattern was associated with advanced age, deeper myometrial invasion, and advanced FIGO stage. Tumors with lower uterine segment involvement (5/6; 80%), lymphovascular space invasion (4/6; 67%), and MELF pattern (3/6; 50.0%) tended to have cervical stromal involvement. Thus, we provide evidence that the presence of these features in hysterectomy specimens from patients with endometrial carcinoma may warrant extended sampling of the cervix while submitting four representative sections (one section from each quadrant) seems adequate to evaluate for occult cervical stromal involvement in grossly unremarkable cervices in the absence of these features.

A Rare Case of Synchronous Ovarian Adenocarcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Cervix

Synchronous tumours of gynaecological malignancies occur rarely and most of these cases are represented by synchronous ovarian and endometrial cancer. Synchronous malignancies of cervix and ovary are rare with poor prognosis. Only few cases of synchronous cancer of cervix and ovary are found in the literature as case reports. Here, we report a case of a 63 year old patient who was diagnosed with synchronous squamous cell carcinoma of cervix and high grade serous carcinoma of ovary in which her clinical presentation, investigation and intraoperative findings were atypical. Patient presented with postmenopausal bleeding and mass per abdomen. Pipelle sampling revealed squamous cell carcinoma of cervix. Examination under anaesthesia noted endocervical growth measuring 3×4 cm with endoluminal extension into the whole endometrial cavity. Computerized tomography (CT) imaging showed left ovarian mass measuring 10.0×11.7 cm. Uterine corpus involvement in this case mislead us to the initial diagnosis of ovarian metastasis in cervical cancer. The distinct histopathological features of the ovary, cervix and endometrial lesion post operatively helped in establishing the diagnosis of two separate primaries which was synchronous cervical and ovarian cancer rather than metastatic spread of one primary malignancy.

Contemporary Rates of Gynecologic Organ Involvement in Females with Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Retrospective Review of Women Undergoing Radical Cystectomy following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

According to the American Urological Association/American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Society for Radiation Oncology/Society of Urologic Oncology Guideline on treatment of nonmetastatic muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), females requiring radical cystectomy (RC) should undergo concomitant anterior pelvic exenteration despite low rates of malignant involvement of gynecologic organs. We present the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with MIBC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and evaluate the impact of NAC on gynecologic organ involvement. An institutional review board approved review of patients with cT2-T3 MIBC treated with RC at our institution between 2005 and 2018 was performed. Patients were stratified by receipt of NAC. A total of 186 females with cT2-T3 MIBC underwent RC during the study period, of whom 67.7% received NAC prior to RC. Patients who received NAC were more likely to have cT3 disease, preoperative hydronephrosis, and variant histology on transurethral resection (p <0.001, p=0.004, p=0.029, respectively). Rates of recurrence or metastasis were similar between groups (27.0% vs 26.7%, p=0.964). No patients had isolated genitourinary organ recurrence (median followup 32.1 months). Nine patients (5.7%) had gynecologic organ involvement (6 NAC vs 3 no NAC, p=0.978). Among those who underwent hysterectomy, 2 patients (3.1%) who received NAC had uterine involvement compared to none in the no NAC cohort (p=0.551). Rates of vaginal involvement were similar between the groups (4 NAC vs 3 no NAC, p=0.402). Additionally, 1 patient who received NAC had incidentally diagnosed localized endometrial cancer. No women had fallopian tube or ovarian involvement. Even among high risk patients with MIBC, gynecologic organ involvement of MIBC is rare, and organ preservation, especially of the ovaries, is likely safe.

The utility of evaluating mismatch repair proteins in endometrial carcinoma: an experience from a tertiary referral centre in North India.

SummaryBackgroundEndometrial cancer (EC) is a common gynecological malignancy. Around 25-30% patients have mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd). Lynch syndrome is caused by germline mutations in MMR genes. Lynch-associated tumours have better prognosis, however implications for prognosis and survival is less known. Microsatellite insufficiency (MSI) is associated with high neoantigen loads and number of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, which overexpresses PD-1 and PD-L1 and are excellent candidates for PD-1-targeted immunotherapies. In this study, we aim to evaluate the utility of MMR in patients with EC and its clinico-pathological correlation.MethodsEighty-two cases of EC which underwent MMR evaluation over a period of five years at our centre were included. Demographics, clinical details including family history, histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) parameters were recorded. Tumors with loss-of at least one protein were considered MMR deficient (MMRd) and those with intact expression were MMR proficient (MMRp).ResultsOf 82 cases tested, 27 (33%) were MMRd. Frequencies of IHC MMR loss of expression were: MLH1/PMS2: 17 (21%), MSH6 loss only: 3 (4%), MSH2/MSH6 loss: 3 (4%), PMS2 loss: 2 (2%). In MMRd cases, most common histologic tumor type was endometrioid adenocarcinoma (70%). Loss of expression was significantly (p < 0.001) more frequent in lower uterine segment involvement and positive family history.ConclusionsMSI plays an important role in the progression of endometrial cancer. Lower uterine segment involvement and positive family history are significant predictor of MMR loss. Routine testing of MMR proteins in endometrial cancer can contribute to screening of Lynch syndrome families and make immunotherapy available as a treatment option.