Yoh Watanabe

Paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with completely or optimally resected carcinosarcoma of the uterus: A phase II trial by the Japanese uterine sarcoma group and the tohoku gynecologic cancer unit

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with completely or optimally resected uterine carcinosarcoma. Materials and Methods We conducted a single-arm multicenter prospective phase II trial at 20 Japanese medical facilities. Eligible patients had histologically confirmed uterine carcinosarcoma without prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Patients received 6 courses of 175 mg/m2 paclitaxel over 3 hours, followed by a 30-minute intravenous administration of carboplatin at an area under the serum concentration-time curve of 6. Results A total of 51 patients were enrolled in this study, 48 of whom underwent complete resection and 3 of whom underwent optimal resection. At 2 years, the progression-free survival and overall survival rates were 78.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 64.1%–87.3%) and 87.9% (95% CI, 75.1%–94.4%), respectively. At 4 years, these rates were 67.9% (95% CI, 53.0%–79.0%) and 76.0% (95% CI, 60.5%–86.1%), respectively. Although 15 patients showed disease recurrence during the follow-up period (median, 47.8 months; range, 2.1–72.8 months), a total of 40 (78.4%) patients completed the 6 courses of treatment that had been planned. Conclusions The combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin was a feasible and effective postoperative adjuvant therapy for patients with completely or optimally resected uterine carcinosarcoma.

Optimal cytoreductive surgery in patients with advanced uterine carcinosarcoma: A multi-institutional retrospective study from the Japanese gynecologic oncology group

BACKGROUND The benefits of cytoreductive surgery for uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of optimal surgery on advanced UCS patient survival. METHODS We performed a multi-institutional, retrospective study of women diagnosed with stage IIIIV UCS between 2007 and 2012. Data were obtained retrospectively from medical records, including demographic, clinicopathologic, treatment, and outcome information. Optimal cytoreductive surgery was defined as surgery resulting in a maximum residual tumor of ≤1cm. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and the Cox regression model was used to examine the impact of selected factors on survival. RESULTS A total of 225 UCS patients (median age, 63years) were identified, including 136 (60%) with stage III and 89 (40%) with stage IV disease. Among these patients, 170 (76%) received optimal cytoreductive surgery. The median follow-up time was 19months. The median PFS was 11.5months (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.6-13.4) and 8.1months (95% CI, 5.1-9.5) for patients who received optimal and suboptimal cytoreductive surgery, respectively (P<0.0001). The median OS was 37.9months (95% CI, 28.3-not reached) and 18months (95% CI, 9.6-21) for patients who received optimal and suboptimal cytoreductive surgery, respectively (P<0.0001). Residual tumor >1cm was associated with worse OS while pelvic lymph node dissection was associated with improved OS. CONCLUSION Optimal cytoreductive surgery and pelvic lymph node dissection are associated with improved OS in advanced UCS patients.

Leptomeningeal metastasis from gynecologic cancers diagnosed by brain MRI

Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) is rarely observed in gynecologic cancers. As gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (Gd-MRI) is highly effective for diagnosing LM, the aim of this study is to describe the clinical behaviors and outcomes of LM patients who were diagnosed by Gd-MRI. After securing institutional review board approvals, we retrospectively reviewed patient records. Eight patients were found to have LM from gynecological malignancies. Primary tumors included three ovarian cancers, one tubal cancer, one peritoneal cancer, two endometrial cancers, and one cervical cancer. Gd-MRI of the brain and the spine is indicated as the high-priority inspection for the diagnosis of this devastating complication.

Clinicopathologic features and BRCA mutations in primary fallopian tube cancer in Japanese women

Objective The present study aimed to clarify the clinicopathological features, including the level of p53 protein expression and BRCA mutations, of primary fallopian tube cancer (PFTC) in Japanese women. Methods A multicenter clinical survey was conducted at three Japanese institutions. Clinical data in patients with PFTC between 1998 and 2016 were collected. Immunohistochemical staining of p53 and BRCA mutation analysis by exome sequence using paraffin-embedded surgical resected specimens were performed. Results A total of 40 patients with PFTC were enrolled in the study. The median age was 58 years (range: 38-78 years); 31 patients were menopausal. Thirty-four (85.0%) patients were diagnosed with serous adenocarcinoma (high grade, 33; low grade, 1). PFTC was classified into ampulla type, fimbriae type and undeterminable type by tumor-occupying lesion; ampulla type and fimbriae type occurred with the same frequency. Among 30 patients with high-grade serous adenocarcinoma, 6 patients showed germline mutations of BRCA1 (stop-gain 4 and frameshift deletion 2) and 2 patients showed germline mutation of BRCA2 (stop-gain 1 and frameshift deletion 1). However, only 1 patient had familial history of breast or ovarian cancer. Patients with BRCA mutations in the germline were frequently observed in ampulla type and FIGO stage I/II cancers, but no significant difference in the frequency of p53 overexpression and overall survival was observed. Conclusions Among Japanese patients with PFTC, 26.7% presented with BRCA mutations in the germline. Additionally, p53 was important for the carcinogenesis in fallopian tubes, independent of the specific BRCA mutation.