Xirun Wan

Preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios as independent predictors of cervical stromal involvement in surgically treated endometrioid adenocarcinoma

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between preoperative inflammatory markers (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio) and cervical stromal involvement in patients with endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Methods We studied 318 patients with endometrioid adenocarcinoma who underwent comprehensive surgical staging. We used univariate and multivariate analyses of cervical stromal involvement and receiver-operating curves to calculate optimal cutoff values for neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios to predict cervical stromal involvement. Results The presence of cervical stromal involvement was associated with neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (P = 0.009 and P = 0.031, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that higher neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios independently predicted cervical stromal involvement (odds ratio 3.10, 95% confidence interval 1.10–8.76, P = 0.032, and odds ratio 5.27, 95% confidence interval 1.94–14.35, P = 0.001, respectively). At a threshold of 2.01, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was 71.0% sensitive and 63.8% specific for stromal involvement; at a 172.24 threshold, the platelet-lymphocyte ratio was 48.4% sensitive and 88.9% specific. Conclusion Preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios can help identify the risk of cervical stromal involvement in patients with endometrial cancer. Evaluating these ratios may help select patients who should be particularly watched and tested for cervical stromal involvement.

A clinicopathological analysis of 40 cases of ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinicopathological features of ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCTs) and to explore the reasonable therapy. METHODS A total of 40 cases of SLCTs were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS The incidence of SLCTs was 0.41%, with a median age of 28 years. All tumors were confined to one ovary. Four tumors were well differentiated, 14 were intermediately differentiated, 20 were poorly differentiated, and 2 were undefined; 2 cases had heterologous elements, and 3 had a retiform pattern. The patients were classified into 3 groups: androgen excess (25/40), estrogen excess (6/40), and no endocrine changes (9/40). The percentages of tumors >10 cm in diameter were 8.0%, 16.7% and 40.0%, respectively; the percentages of poor differentiation were 40.0%, 50.0% and 77.8%, respectively; and the percentages of tumor rupture were 20.0%, 16.7% and 66.7%, respectively. One patient underwent cystectomy, 27 underwent unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and 12 underwent total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. A total of 23 patients received postoperative chemotherapy. One patient died of diabetic nephropathy, and 3 were lost to follow up. The remaining 36 were followed up from 12 to 377 (average 70.4) months. Two patients with stage Ic tumors of poor differentiation had a recurrence within 13 and 21 months, and both obtained complete remission after the second surgery and chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS The prognosis of SLCTs is good, although poorly differentiated tumors may recur. Conservative surgery is acceptable for young patients wishing to preserve fertility, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and long-term follow up are recommended to those with high-risk factors.

Diagnosis and management of uterine arteriovenous fistulas with massive vaginal bleeding

To study the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, and prognosis of uterine arteriovenous fistulas with massive vaginal bleeding.

Molecular Genetic Analyses of Choriocarcinoma

BACKGROUND Choriocarcinoma is a highly malignant trophoblastic neoplasm. Most of them are gestational in origin, while non-gestational ones are exceedingly rare. The genetic origin, immunogenicity, sensitivity to chemotherapy and prognosis of these two kinds of conditions are quite different, so identification of these two kinds of choriocarcinoma is of great importance. The objective of this study is to distinguish choriocarcinoma as gestational or non-gestational and identify the causative pregnancy of gestational choriocarcinoma through molecular genetic analysis. METHODS Twelve patients with choriocarcinoma, who had experienced surgery prior to chemotherapy, were enrolled in this study. DNA was prepared from blood samples from the patient and her partner using standard techniques. In order to prepare DNA from choriocarcinoma tissue, areas of choriocarcinoma were firstly microdissected from haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections. PCR amplification and fluorescent microsatellite genotyping were performed using DNA from the couples and captured tissue. The genetic contributions to the choriocarcinoma were determined by comparing the genotypes of the choriocarcinoma and that of the couples. RESULTS Four of twelve cases had only a maternal contribution, indicating a non-gestational origin. The remaining eight cases were all gestational in origin and the causative pregnancies were identified as AnCHM (androgenetic complete hydatidiform mole) in six and normal pregnancies in two respectively. CONCLUSION Microsatellite polymorphism analysis is a molecular approach for distinguishing the non-gestational choriocarcinoma from the gestational one, and can also be used to identify the causative pregnancy of gestational choriocarcinoma. Antecedent pregnancy prior to choriocarcinoma is not always its causative pregnancy. Therefore, it is reasonable to identify the causative pregnancy by its genetic origin, instead of clinical impression.

Salvage combination chemotherapy with floxuridine, dactinomycin, etoposide, and vincristine (FAEV) for patients with relapsed/chemoresistant gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

BACKGROUND Although most patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) are cured by conventional chemotherapy, some develop drug resistance or relapse. The use of new combination drugs has been studied to treat those with resistant or relapsed disease. We evaluated the results of floxuridine, dactinomycin, etoposide, and vincristine (FAEV) chemotherapy in patients with relapsed/chemoresistant GTN. PATIENTS AND METHODS Clinical data and outcome of the patients with relapsed/chemoresistant GTN from 1 January 2005 to 30 June 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. Eligible patients had received at least one cycle of FAEV chemotherapy. The primary end points were response rate and toxicity of FAEV regimen; the secondary end point was assessment of clinical predictors of response. RESULTS In total, 91 patients were included. Fifty-five of these patients (60.4%) achieved serologic complete remission (SCR), 29 patients had no response, 7 patients experienced recurrent grade ≥3 or intolerable toxicity. SCR of FAEV chemotherapy was significantly associated with number of previous chemotherapy regimens (≤2) in multivariate analysis (P = 0.005). The most serious adverse events were greater than or equal to grade 3 neutropenia (26.4%), febrile neutropenia (6.6%), and greater than or equal to grade 3 thrombocytopenia (3.3%). CONCLUSION FAEV is an effective regimen with manageable toxicity for patients with relapsed/chemoresistant GTN. Further studies of this regimen are warranted.

The prognostic analysis of 123 postpartum choriocarcinoma cases

A retrospective analysis of 123 postpartum choriocarcinoma cases treated at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital between December 1985 and December 2006 was performed. All the patients with postpartum choriocarcinoma received chemotherapy, combined with comprehensive therapy. The total number of chemotherapy cycles was 1041 (8.5 for every patient on average). The complete remission (CR) was achieved in 108 patients (87.8%), whereas five patients had partial remission and ten died. Of the 26 patients who became resistant to 5-fluorouracil combined chemotherapy, 18 achieved CR. Of the four cases who had recurrence, three achieved CR. The patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups, based on the new FIGO 2000 risk factor scoring system. Seventy-five patients were in high-risk group, with a score of 7 or more. Among them, 62 achieved CR (82.7%). The remaining 48 patients were in the low-risk group, with a score of 6 or less, among whom 46 patients achieved CR (95.8%). There is a significant difference in CR rate between the two groups. Based on the FIGO staging and scoring system, 24 patients were diagnosed as FIGO stage I, 9 stage II, 66 stage III, and 24 stage IV. The rate of CR was 100%, 100%, 91%, and 62.5%, respectively. Our experience shows that prognosis of postpartum choriocarcinoma is good when multiagent systemic chemotherapy is applied. Shortened time interval between the antecedent pregnancy and the treatment will lead to better prognosis

Clinical parameters predicting therapeutic response to surgical management in patients with chemotherapy-resistant gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

OBJECTIVE Several studies have reported that surgical management of chemotherapy-resistant gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) is a useful adjunct to chemotherapy. We investigated the pretreatment predictive factors of therapeutic response in response to surgical management combined with chemotherapy. METHODS The study involved 61 patients with chemotherapy-resistant GTN who underwent surgery between January 1996 and January 2007. Responses to the combination therapy with surgery and chemotherapy were assessed after the end of treatment. Statistical analyses were performed to identify preoperative clinical factors associated with response of chemotherapy-resistant GTN. RESULTS After the end of combination therapy, 47 (77.0%), 4 (6.6%), 1 (1.6%), and 9 (14.8%) of 61 patients showed complete response (CR), partial remission (PR), stable disease (SD), and progressive disease (PD), respectively. Univariate analysis found that predictors of response were age (p=0.022), antecedent pregnancy (p=0.022), site of metastasis (p=0.026), and preoperative serum human chorionic gonadotropin-beta subunit (beta-hCG) level (p=0.027). All patients with treatment failure had 2 or more of unfavorable factors, including age older than 35 years, antecedent non-molar pregnancy, distant metastasis outside of lungs and uterus, and preoperative serum beta-hCG level greater than 10 IU/L. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that age older than 35 years, antecedent non-molar pregnancy, distant metastasis outside of lungs and uterus, and a preoperative serum beta-hCG level greater than 10 IU/L are important clinical predictors of treatment failure to surgery. They may benefit in the selection of salvage surgery as well as the assessment of individual prognosis.

Fertility-preserving treatment in young patients with placental site trophoblastic tumors.

Objective To investigate the methods of fertility-sparing therapy for patients with placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) and analyze the outcomes. Methods From January 1999 to October 2010, the clinical features, pathology, diagnosis, fertility-preserving treatment, and outcomes of 6 patients with PSTT were studied retrospectively. Six patients were provided with multimodality treatment, which combined with surgery and chemotherapy. Five patients had received intrauterine arterial infusion chemotherapy. Three patients with polypoid-type tumor were treated by dilation and curettage and combination chemotherapy. Three patients with nodular masses underwent uterine tumor resection and combination chemotherapy. Two patients with nodular masses were treated by combination chemotherapy after dilation and curettage, and then uterine tumor resection was performed. Results After follow-up for 10 to 104 months (mean, 47 months), 6 patients achieved a complete remission, presented no signs of recurrence, and had restored normal menstruation. One of them had a normal delivery in July 2011. Conclusions Fertility-conserving therapy for young women with PSTT would be practicable if the patient is younger than 35 years, strongly desires to preserve fertility and responds well to chemotherapy and conservative surgery, the pathological results of which do not show poor prognostic factors and the gross pathologic type does not present markedly enlarged uterus, diffuse infiltrative and diffuse multifocal disease within the uterus.

Analysis of clinicopathologic prognostic factors in 9 patients with epithelioid trophoblastic tumor.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathologic features and prognostic factor in patients with epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT). Methods: From January 2002 to June 2010, the clinicopathologic characteristics, treatments, outcomes, and prognosis of 9 patients with ETT were analyzed retrospectively in our institution. Results: Of 9 patients, 8 (88.9%) had metastases. The histopathologic results of 7 patients (77.8%) with poor outcomes showed diffuse multifocal disease within the uterus, full-thickness myometrial invasion, uterine serosal involvement, and extensive necrosis. The size of the uterus exceeded 8 weeks of gestation in 7 patients. Two of them had poorly differentiated carcinoma. All patients were treated with multimodality treatment that combined with surgery and chemotherapy. After the initial treatments, 5 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I achieved complete remission (CR), 1 patient achieved partial remission, and 3 patients (33.3%) had no response to treatments and died of progressive disease. After following up for 6 to 107 months (mean, 24 months), 4 (44.4%) of the 5 patients with initial CR had relapse: 3 of them achieved a second CR and the other 1 was under treatment. Conclusions: Epithelioid trophoblastic tumor is a rare and special type of intermediate trophoblastic tumor with a high degree of malignancy and poor prognosis. Multifocal lesions in bulky uterus, combined with full-thickness myometrial invasion and uterine serosal involvement, could be related to poor outcomes in patients with ETT. The prognosis of ETT could be improved by increasing diagnostic accuracy, identifying prognostic factor at an early stage, and providing early intensive multimodality treatment to patients with poor prognostic factors.

Surgical resection in the management of pulmonary metastatic disease of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of surgical resection on survival outcome in patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia with pulmonary metastatic disease. Medical records of 62 patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia who underwent pulmonary lobectomy or limited resection were reviewed. The cases were divided into 3 groups, namely, the recurrent group (group A), the drug-resistant group (group B), and the group with satisfactory response to chemotherapy but with residual pulmonary lesion (group C). The proportion of high-risk patients was significantly lower in group C, whereas this group had a remarkable complete remission rate of 100% with no relapse recorded, and only 3 patients (12.0%) in this group had a positive histologic diagnosis. The complete remission rates of groups A and B were 88.9% and 78.6%, respectively, and the relapse rates were 14.3% and 15.0%, respectively. By comparing treatment failure cases with patients who achieved complete remission, factors that might affect the clinical outcome of pulmonary surgery were also analyzed. Patients who have received more than 4 regimens or 13 courses of preoperative chemotherapy seemed to have unfavorable prognosis (P < 0.05). Follow-ups could be carried out without surgical resection for patients with satisfactory response to chemotherapy but with residual pulmonary lesions. Pulmonary surgery is indicated when clinical evidence suggests that pulmonary metastatic disease causes relapse or drug-resistance and the lesions are relatively localized. However, surgery is not advisable for patients who received more than 4 regimens or 13 courses of preoperative chemotherapy.