Siriwan Tangjitgamol

Interval debulking surgery for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: A Cochrane systematic review

OBJECTIVESnTo assess the effectiveness of interval debulking surgery (IDS) for patients with advanced stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).nnnMETHODSnWe searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, EMBASE, and reference lists for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of advanced stage EOC. The trials had to report survival of women who had primary surgery and had IDS performed between cycles of chemotherapy comparing to survival of women who had conventional treatment (primary debulking surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy). Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. Meta-analysis of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was performed using fixed effects models.nnnRESULTSnThree RCTs, involving 853 women of whom 781 were evaluated, met the inclusion criteria. OSs were substantial heterogeneity between trials (I(2)=58%). Subgroup analysis in two trials, wherein the primary surgery was not performed by the gynecologic oncologists, or was less extensive, showed benefit of IDS: hazard ratio=0.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.5 to 0.9, I(2)=0%). Substantial heterogeneity between two trials for PFS evaluating 702 women was also shown (I(2)=75%). Toxic reactions to chemotherapy were similar in both arms (RR=1.3, 95% CI: 0.4 to 3.6). Only one trial reported quality of life, which was generally similar in both treatment arms.nnnCONCLUSIONSnOur review could not conclude whether IDS would improve the survival of women with advanced EOC compared with conventional treatment. IDS appeared to yield benefit only in the patients whose primary surgery was not performed by expert surgeons.

Management of endometrial cancer in Asia: consensus statement from the Asian Oncology Summit 2009

Endometrial cancer is one of the gynaecological cancers that carries good overall prognosis because it is often detected at early stages of disease. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics replaced clinical staging with surgical staging in 1988 and updated the system in 2009. Controversies remain regarding the recommended screening protocol for women with a high risk of endometrial cancer, the role and benefit of retroperitoneal lymph-node dissection, the necessity of ovarian resection, the benefit and type of adjuvant radiation therapy, and the safety of hormone-replacement therapy after treatment. This article reviews the available evidence for optimum management of endometrial cancer and how management strategies can be applied in Asian countries with different levels of health-care resource availability and economic development. An overview of the literature for endometrial-cancer screening, diagnosis, and management is discussed. Consensus statements are formulated on the basis of basic, limited, enhanced, and maximum health-care resource availability, using the framework provided by the Breast Health Global Initiative.

Sexual dysfunction in Thai women with early-stage cervical cancer after radical hysterectomy

We determined the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with early-stage cervical cancer who had undergone radical hysterectomy in three institutions of Thailand. An interview was conducted according to the structured questionnaire composing of seven domains of sexual function: frequency, desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and dyspareunia. From 105 women included in the study, mean age was 45.3 ± 7.8 years. Seventy-five (71.4%) were in premenopausal period. Eight out of 105 women (7.6%) never resumed their sexual intercourse after radical hysterectomy, 97 women resumed their sexual intercourse during 1–36 months postoperation (median, 4 months). Dyspareunia was increased in approximately 37% of women, while the other six domains of sexual function were decreased, ranging from approximately 40–60%. Of interest, only 10.5% of these cervical cancer women had some information of sexual function from medical or paramedical personnel, 17.1% obtained it from other laymen or public media, and 61.9% had never had it from any resources. Our conclusion is—sexual dysfunction is a common problem after cervical cancer treatment, but it has not been well aware of. These findings may necessitate health care providers to be more considerate on this problem.

Fertility-Sparing in Endometrial Cancer

Because endometrial cancer (EMC) patients frequently present at an early stage of disease, most have favorable outcomes, thus their quality of life after treatment is as important a consideration as a cure of cancer. This issue is especially important when EMC is encountered in younger or reproductive ages when the afflicted woman has not achieved her fertility function. It is a complicated situation when a physician encounters a request or question from a woman with EMC or her family concerning whether she could conceive a child prior to a definite cancer treatment. Despite being an interesting issue, there are only a few studies with definite treatment guidelines or any evidence-based recommendations concerning conservative treatment for EMC. Thus, we undertook this study to explore various considerations regarding the criteria and caveats for the management of EMC women who desire to preserve their fertility function. An algorithm guideline for conservative fertility treatment for EMC is also presented.

A risk score for selective screening for gestational diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVEnTo develop a risk score to predict women who are likely to have an abnormal glucose challenge test (GCT) for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) screening.nnnSTUDY DESIGNnA cohort of 1876 pregnant women who underwent a GCT between March 2005 and December 2005 at our institution were studied. A multivariable analysis was performed to determine the clinical features that were significantly associated with an abnormal GCT. These factors were incorporated into the equation which was subsequently transformed to the risk score. The validity of this risk score was then tested in a different cohort of 1900 women who underwent a GCT between October 2006 and July 2007.nnnRESULTSnOf 1876 women in the derivation cohort, 586 (31.2%) had positive GDM screening. In a multivariable analysis, age, body mass index, family history of diabetes, prior macrosomia, and history of >or=2 spontaneous abortions were significantly associated with an abnormal GCT. These five variables were added into the equation to determine the risk score. At a cutoff score of >or=380, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value to predict an abnormal GCT were 86.9%, 45.0%, 41.8%, and 88.3%, respectively. When the equation with the same cutoff score was tested in the validation cohort, a similar diagnostic performance was obtained. By adopting this risk scoring approach to GDM screening, 41.3% of women could avoid GCT.nnnCONCLUSIONnOur risk score based on clinical data is simple, noninvasive, costless, and reliable to identify women who are likely to have an abnormal GCT.

Malignant ovarian germ cell tumors: clinico‐pathological presentation and survival outcomes

Objective. To evaluate clinico‐pathological features, treatment, survival, and prognostic factors of patients with malignant ovarian germ cell tumors. Design. Descriptive study. Setting. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Medical College and Vajira Hospital and Prince of Songkla University. Population. Malignant ovarian germ cell tumor patients treated between January 1996 and December 2007. Methods. Clinico‐pathological data were collected. Patients with malignant tumors arising from benign cystic teratoma were excluded. Survival and potential prognostic factors were analyzed. Main outcome measures. Clinico‐pathological features, survival. Results. One hundred and thirty patients were identified. The median age was 21 years (range, 4–44 years). The most common complaint was pelvic or abdominal mass (63%). Primary surgery was performed by a gynecologic oncologist in only 39.2% of cases. More than half (64.2%) had early stage disease (stages I–II) and the majority had conservative surgery (73.1%). The most common histopathology was dysgerminoma. Of 124 patients with available follow‐up data, 22 did not receive adjuvant treatment; 1 had whole abdominal radiation; and 101 had chemotherapy. Of 89 patients who were evaluable for responses, 4 patients had progressive disease while 85 had complete response. The five‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 82.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 75.4–89.5%)] and 92.4% (95% CI, 87.6–97.2%), respectively. Only preoperative tumor marker elevation was a significant poor prognostic factor for PFS. Conclusions. Malignant ovarian germ cell tumors have a good prognosis with conservative surgical treatment. Chemotherapy is important. Elevated preoperative serum tumor markers are a poor prognostic factor for PFS.

Paclitaxel and carboplatin for large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the uterine cervix

The prognosis of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the uterine cervix is generally poor despite multimodality of treatments. We report a case of advanced stage cervical LCNEC that showed definite response to paclitaxel/carboplatin, resulting in years of survival. The patient was referred to our institution after undergoing a simple hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy in her local hospital because of a ruptured metastatic ovarian mass. She declined pelvic radiation treatment, so adjuvant chemotherapy (six cycles of paclitaxel/carboplatin) was given for the residual pelvic nodal diseases. Clinical complete remission was obtained, with a disease‐free period of 19u2003months. Systemic recurrent diseases also showed partial response to the same drug regimen for months with only minimal toxicity. However, she subsequently had progressive diseases in the liver and brain and finally died at 44u2003months after primary diagnosis and 19u2003months after recurrent diseases.

Visual inspection with acetic acid for detection of high grade lesion in atypical squamous cells and low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions from cervical Pap smear

Objective To evaluate the value of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) test to detect high grade lesion in women with atypical squamous cells or low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions cervical cytology. Methods Women with atypical squamous cells or low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions who were scheduled to undergo colposcopy at Vajira Hospital and met inclusion criteria were included. All participants underwent VIA test prior to usual steps of colposcopy. The VIA results were interpreted as positive or negative using the criteria by the International Agency for Cancer Research. The standard colposcopic examination and appropriate investigations for cervical pathology were then continued. The diagnostic values of VIA test including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were determined using high grade lesion including cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2-3 and squamous cell carcinoma as a threshold. Results Total of 106 women was included. The VIA test was positive in 33 women (31.1%) and negative in 73 women (68.9%). Among the women with VIA test positive, 14 had high grade lesion (42.4%) while 19 had no significant lesions. Only 2/73 (2.7%) cases with negative VIA test had high grade lesion (both had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value with 95% confidence interval were 87.5% (81.2 to 93.8%), 78.8% (71.1 to 86.7%), 42.4% (33.0 to 51.8%), and 97.2% (94.2 to 1.0%) respectively. Conclusion VIA as the intermediate test in atypical squamous cells and low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions cytology may reduce the necessity to refer some women for colposcopy.

Hormone Replacement Therapy after Treatment of Endometrial Cancer

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after endometrial cancer (EMC) treatment is an uncertain subject with limited exploration among gynecologic cancer research. Because estrogen is a well-recognized etiologic factor of EMC, most physicians are probably reluctant to provide a replacement therapy, or limit its use to only a selected group of patients. In order to give an overview on this subject, we searched the English-language literature to identify relevant studies or reports. We found that HRT did not appear to increase the recurrence or death rates in EMC. However, most information came from retrospective studies with selection bias, or from a small prospective non-randomized study. The only randomized controlled trial of the Gynecologic Oncology Group could also not provide a definite answer regarding its safety and recommendation. In conclusion, on the basis of the currently available studies, HRT after EMC treatment does not appear to have an adverse effect on EMC. Nevertheless, because of a limitation of data, the physician should thoroughly consider all possible benefits and theoretical risks of recurrence or mortality in each individual to provide the best of care for their patients.

Use of oral glucose tolerance test in early pregnancy to predict late‐onset gestational diabetes mellitus in high‐risk women

Aim:u2002 To evaluate if any single plasma glucose level from the four values of the normal 100‐g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in early pregnancy (≤20u2003weeks of gestation) could predict gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) diagnosed from a second OGTT in late pregnancy (28–32u2003weeks).