Imaging in gynecological disease (23): clinical and ultrasound characteristics of ovarian carcinosarcoma

Radiomics analysis of solid adnexal masses - a step towards automated ultrasound diagnosis

Linked article: This Correspondence comments on Moro et al. Click here to view the article.

Radiomics analysis of ultrasound images to discriminate between benign and malignant adnexal masses with solid morphology on ultrasound

OBJECTIVE

The primary aim was to identify radiomics ultrasound features that can distinguish between benign and malignant adnexal masses with solid ultrasound morphology, and between primary malignant (including borderline and primary invasive) and metastatic solid ovarian masses, and to develop ultrasound-based machine learning models that include radiomics features to discriminate between benign and malignant solid adnexal masses. The secondary aim was to compare the discrimination performance of our newly developed radiomics models with that of the Assessment of Different NEoplasias in the adneXa (ADNEX) model and that of subjective assessment by an experienced ultrasound examiner.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, observational single-center study conducted at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCC, in Rome, Italy. Included were patients with a histological diagnosis of an adnexal tumor with solid morphology according to International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) terminology at preoperative ultrasound examination performed in 2014-2020, who were managed with surgery. The patient cohort was split randomly into training and validation sets at a ratio of 70:30 and with the same proportion of benign and malignant tumors in the two subsets, with malignant tumors including borderline, primary invasive and metastatic tumors. We extracted 68 radiomics features, belonging to two different families: intensity-based statistical features and textural features. Models to predict malignancy were built based on a random forest classifier, fine-tuned using 5-fold cross-validation over the training set, and tested on the held-out validation set. The variables used in model-building were patient age and radiomics features that were statistically significantly different between benign and malignant adnexal masses and assessed as not redundant based on the Pearson correlation coefficient. We evaluated the discriminative ability of the models and compared it to that of the ADNEX model and that of subjective assessment by an experienced ultrasound examiner using the area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve (AUC) and classification performance by calculating sensitivity and specificity.

RESULTS

In total, 326 patients were included and 775 preoperative ultrasound images were analyzed. Of the 68 radiomics features extracted, 52 differed statistically significantly between benign and malignant tumors in the training set, and 18 uncorrelated features were selected for inclusion in model-building. The same 52 radiomics features differed significantly between benign, primary malignant and metastatic tumors. However, the values of the features manifested overlapped between primary malignant and metastatic tumors and did not differ significantly between them. In the validation set, 25/98 (25.5%) tumors were benign and 73/98 (74.5%) were malignant (6 borderline, 57 primary invasive, 10 metastatic). In the validation set, a model including only radiomics features had an AUC of 0.80, sensitivity of 0.78 and specificity of 0.76 at an optimal cut-off for risk of malignancy of 68%, based on Youden's index. The corresponding results for a model including age and radiomics features were AUC of 0.79, sensitivity of 0.86 and specificity of 0.56 (cut-off 60%, based on Youden's index), while those of the ADNEX model were AUC of 0.88, sensitivity of 0.99 and specificity of 0.64 (at a 20% risk-of-malignancy cut-off). Subjective assessment had a sensitivity of 0.99 and specificity of 0.72.

CONCLUSIONS

Our radiomics model had moderate discriminative ability on internal validation and the addition of age to this model did not improve its performance. Even though our radiomics models had discriminative ability inferior to that of the ADNEX model, our results are sufficiently promising to justify continued development of radiomics analysis of ultrasound images of adnexal masses. © 2024 The Author(s). Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Ovarian carcinosarcoma with lung metastasis characterized by persistent fever: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) is a rare malignant tumor prone to distant metastasis. Primary manifestations include pelvic and/or abdominal pain, bloating, and compression. Nevertheless, it is uncommon for OCS to present primarily with persistent fever. This is the first reported case of OCS with lung metastasis characterized by persistent fever.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 61-year-old female patient complaining of abdominal pain and fever was admitted to our hospital. Computed tomography showed an irregular, slightly low-density mass on the left side of the uterus and multiple solid nodules in both lungs.

DIAGNOSES

She underwent cytoreductive surgery for pathologically confirmed stage IVB OCS.

INTERVENTIONS

She was administered chemotherapy after cytoreductive surgery. Given the patient's history of persistent fever and progressively enlarged pulmonary nodules, a pulmonary abscess was considered as a possible diagnosis. Following antibiotic therapy, the patient's high body temperature did not decrease; however, following nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy, it quickly decreased. These symptoms were eventually considered the consequence of neoplastic fever caused by lung metastases.

OUTCOMES

Owing to the rapid progression of the disease, the patient ultimately died.

LESSONS

This study suggests that, for patients with pelvic and/or abdominal pain, bloating, and pelvic masses, especially those with suspicious lesions in other organs accompanied by fever of unknown origin, a diagnosis of cancer or sarcoma with metastasis should be considered after ruling out infectious fever.

Unveiling the mille-feuille sign: a key to diagnosing ovarian carcinosarcoma in addition to ovarian metastasis from colorectal carcinoma on MRI

PURPOSE

To clarify the diagnostic utility and formation of the Mille-feuille sign for ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) on MRI, and to evaluate the other MRI findings and serum markers compared to ovarian metastases from colorectal carcinoma (OMCRC).

METHOD

Three blinded radiologists retrospectively reviewed MR images of 12 patients with OCS, 18 with OMCRC, and 40 with primary ovarian carcinoma (POC) identified by the electronic database of radiology reports. The interobserver agreement was analyzed using Fleiss' kappa test. Their MRI characteristics and tumor markers were compared using Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney's U test. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to determine the cutoff points for the ADC value. This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee.

RESULTS

Interobserver agreement analysis was moderate or higher for all MRI characteristics. The frequency of Mille-feuille sign was comparable for both OCS and OMCRC groups, and predominantly higher than that of the POC group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001), respectively. Pathologically, the Mille-feuille sign in OCS reflected alternating layers of tumor cells with stroma and necrosis or intraluminal necrotic debris. Compared to OMCRC, intratumoral hemorrhage (p = 0.02), margin irregularity (p = 0.048), unilateral adnexal mass (p = 0.02), and low ADC values (p < 0.01) were more frequently observed and serum CEA levels was significantly lower (p = 0.007) in the OCS group. Under setting of the cutoff value of ADC at 0.871 × 10-3mm2/s, the discriminative ability for OCS showed 66.7% sensitivity, 94.4% specificity, and 81.0% accuracy, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The Mille-feuille sign was seen in both OCS and OMCRC. MR findings of intratumoral hemorrhage, margin irregularity, unilateral adnexal mass, low ADC values, and low serum CEA levels can be useful in differentiating OCS from OMCRC.

Spotlight on Carcinosarcoma of the Ovary: A Scoping Review

Ovarian carcinosarcoma, also referred as malignant mixed Mullerian tumour, is an uncommon, highly aggressive and malignant neoplasm which makes up 1 to 4% of all ovarian tumours. It is biphasic involving both malignant sarcomatous (mesenchymal) and carcinomatous (epithelial) cells. There are various subtypes such as serous and endometrioid. However, the mesenchymal part is sarcomatous. About 90% of cases of ovarian carcinosarcoma spread outside the ovary. The two most accepted theories of origin for carcinosarcoma of the ovary are the collision and conversion theories. A third theory is the combination theory. Prognosis remains poor even when still localised in the ovary. In the last few years, there has been no change in the survival rate. The median survival rate is lower than 2 years. Clinical features mainly include lower abdominal pain and a palpable abdominal mass. Ovarian carcinosarcoma remains poorly understood and understudied. Being a rare tumour, elaborate therapeutic consensus is not available for ovarian carcinosarcoma. The main treatment involves cytoreductive surgery and then chemotherapy. The type of chemotherapy, role of radiotherapy and novel therapies need to be further studied. The main objective of this article is to review the current literature on carcinosarcoma of the ovary.

Sonographic and Magnetic Resonance Characteristics of Gynecological Sarcoma

INTRODUCTION

Gynecological sarcomas are rare malignant tumors with an incidence of 1.5-3/100,000 and are 3-9% of all malignant uterine tumors. The preoperative differentiation between sarcoma and myoma becomes increasingly important with the development of minimally invasive treatments for myomas, as this means undertreatment for sarcoma. There are currently no reliable laboratory tests or imaging-characteristics to detect sarcomas. The objective of this article is to gain an overview of sarcoma US/MRI characteristics and assess their accuracy for preoperative diagnosis.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was performed and 12 studies on ultrasound and 21 studies on MRI were included.

RESULTS

For the ultrasound, these key features were gathered: solid tumor > 8 cm, unsharp borders, heterogeneous echogenicity, no acoustic shadowing, rich vascularization, and cystic changes within. For the MRI, these key features were gathered: irregular borders; heterogeneous; high signal on T2WI intensity; and hemorrhagic and necrotic changes, with central non-enhancement, hyperintensity on DWI, and low values for ADC.

CONCLUSIONS

These features are supported by the current literature. In retrospective analyses, the ultrasound did not show a sufficient accuracy for diagnosing sarcoma preoperatively and could also not differentiate between the different subtypes. The MRI showed mixed results: various studies achieved high sensitivities in their analysis, when combining multiple characteristics. Overall, these findings need further verification in prospective studies with larger study populations.

Epidemiology and prediction model of patients with carcinosarcoma in the United States

Background

Carcinosarcoma is a rare biphasic tumor composed of both carcinoma and sarcoma elements, which occurs at various sites. Most studies are case reports or small population-based studies for a single disease site, so comprehensive evaluations of epidemiology and prognostic factors for carcinosarcoma are needed.

Methods

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-8 (1975-2019) provided data for the epidemiological analysis. SEER-17 (2000-2019) provided data on the primary tumor sites, initial treatment, construction, and validation of the nomogram.

Results

The age-adjusted incidence per 100,000 persons of carcinosarcoma increased significantly from 0.46 to 0.91 [1975-2019; average annual percent change (AAPC): 1.3%, P = 0.006], with localized stage increasing from 0.14 to 0.26 [2005-2015; annual percent change (APC): 4.2%]. The 20-year limited-duration prevalence per 100,000 increased from 0.47 to 3.36 (1999-2018). The mortality per 100,000 increased significantly from 0.16 to 0.51 (1975-2019; AAPC: 1.9%, P < 0.001). The 5-year relative survival was 32.8%. The greatest number of carcinosarcomas were from the uterus (68.7%), ovary (17.8%), lung and bronchus (2.3%). The main treatment is comprehensive treatment based on surgery; however, surgery alone is preferred in older patients. In multivariate analysis (N = 11,424), age, sex, race, year of diagnosis, disease stage, tumor site, and treatment were associated with survival. A nomogram was established to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival, and the C-indexes were 0.732 and 0.748 for the training and testing sets, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrated that the nomogram provided a comprehensive and accurate prediction [1-year area under the curve (AUC): 0.782 vs. 0.796; 3-year AUC: 0.771 vs. 0.798; 5-year AUC: 0.777 vs. 0.810].

Conclusions

In this study, the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of carcinosarcoma have increased over the past decades. There was a rapid rise in the incidence of localized stage in recent years, which reflected improved early detection. The prognosis of carcinosarcoma remains poor, signifying the urgency of exploring targeted cancer control treatments. Explicating distribution and gender disparities of carcinosarcoma may facilitate disease screening and medical surveillance. The nomogram demonstrated good predictive capacity and facilitated clinical decision-making.

The clinical characteristics and treatment of ovarian malignant mesoderm mixed tumor: a systematic review

Background

Ovarian malignant mesoderm mixed tumor (OMMMT) is a rare clinical entity. To provide reference for the treatment and prognosis of OMMMT, we analyzed the clinical features, pathology and molecular biology characteristic of published cases.

Methods

The English and Chinese reported cases of OMMMT were selected from PubMed, Clinical Trials.gov and CNKI database from 2000 to December 15th, 2021 following the PRISMA guidelines.

Results

A total of 63 literatures including 199 OMMMT cases were included. The average age of patients at diagnosis was 56.46 years, the highest incidence age was 60-65 years, and 82% of them were menopausal women. Most patients were diagnosed in FIGO III stage (59.64%). The most common symptom of OMMMT was abdominal pain (60.5%). 61.6% of patients were accompanied by ascites, while ascites was not associated with metastatic tumor and local recurrence. The CA125 of 88.68% patients increased. The most common reported carcinomatous component and sarcomatous component were serous adenocarcinoma (44.96%) and chondrosarcoma (24.81%), respectively. Initial treatment included surgery (94.97%) and taxanes-based (55.10%) or platinum-based (85.71%) chemotherapy regimens. The median survival time of patients was 20 months. Heterologous sarcoma component did not shorten life expectancy. The optimal ovarian tumor cell debulking surgery (OOTCDS), radiotherapy and chemotherapy could significantly prolong the median survival time of patients. Furthermore, platinum drugs could significantly prolong the survival time after comparing various chemotherapy schemes. Besides, the combination of platinum and taxanes was therapeutically superior to the combination of platinum and biological alkylating agents.

Conclusion

The OOTCDS and platinum-based chemotherapy regimen can improve the prognosis of OMMMT. Targeted therapy might become a new research direction in the future. Since the elderly patients are the majority, the toxicity of new drugs on the elderly patients is more noteworthy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13048-022-01037-6.

Management of a rare ovarian carcinosarcoma: A case report and literature review

Ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) is a rare and lethal gynecological cancer. The present study reports on the case of a 61-year-old post-menopausal female with abdominal distension who was detected to have a large OCS. The patient underwent cytoreductive surgery, including sub-extensive hysterectomy, bilateral adnexectomy, sigmoid colon and partial rectal resection, and lymph node dissection. Postoperative pathology of the bilateral adnexal masses revealed carcinosarcoma. The main components of the carcinoma included serous carcinoma and a small amount of squamous cell carcinoma. The sarcoma components mainly contained fibrosarcoma, as well as a small amount of chondrosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. Infiltrating cells in cancer tissues or metastasis were observed in the serosal surface, muscular and subserosal layers of the uterus, as well as the sigmoid colon and part of the rectum. The patient was diagnosed postoperatively with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIIC ovarian carcinosarcoma and T3cN1M0 based on the TNM system. The patient then received six cycles of combination chemotherapy using carboplatin, paclitaxel plus bevacizumab. As severe myelosuppression occurred during and after chemotherapy, and bevacizumab was expensive, bevacizumab therapy was not maintained after chemotherapy. However, following chemotherapy, the patient received niraparib oral maintenance therapy. At 6 months after the sixth chemotherapy, cancer antigen 125 levels dropped to 4.55 U/ml (within normal range). Short-term follow-up of 6 months after the end of chemotherapy indicated that the patient had a remission prognosis based on the ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging examinations and serum tumor marker levels. The present study indicated that combined chemotherapy and targeted therapy after cytoreductive surgery may be a promising way for the treatment of OCS.