Adnexal mass in the postmenopausal patient

Bilateral Adnexal Entanglement: A Diagnostic Challenge in Postmenopausal Women

Simultaneous bilateral adnexal entanglement is a rare condition with only a few cases documented in the literature. It represents an exceptional cause of symptomatic pelvic masses, posing unique diagnostic and management challenges. A 56-year-old postmenopausal woman presented to the emergency department with progressive abdominal pain. Imaging revealed bilateral adnexal masses, initially interpreted as secondary lesions to prior abdominal surgeries. Surgical exploration uncovered bilateral adnexal entanglement without evidence of ischemia. Histopathology examination confirmed mature cystic teratomas. This case highlights the complexity of diagnosing adnexal masses in postmenopausal women, especially when imaging findings overlap with benign post-surgical changes. A thorough multidisciplinary approach is essential to avoid delays and ensure accurate diagnosis.

AI-based automated segmentation for ovarian/adnexal masses and their internal components on ultrasound imaging

Purpose

Segmentation of ovarian/adnexal masses from surrounding tissue on ultrasound images is a challenging task. The separation of masses into different components may also be important for radiomic feature extraction. Our study aimed to develop an artificial intelligence-based automatic segmentation method for transvaginal ultrasound images that (1) outlines the exterior boundary of adnexal masses and (2) separates internal components.

Approach

A retrospective ultrasound imaging database of adnexal masses was reviewed for exclusion criteria at the patient, mass, and image levels, with one image per mass. The resulting 54 adnexal masses (36 benign/18 malignant) from 53 patients were separated by patient into training (26 benign/12 malignant) and independent test (10 benign/6 malignant) sets. U-net segmentation performance on test images compared to expert detailed outlines was measured using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and the ratio of the Hausdorff distance to the effective diameter of the outline (R HD - D ) for each mass. Subsequently, in discovery mode, a two-level fuzzy c-means (FCM) unsupervised clustering approach was used to separate the pixels within masses belonging to hypoechoic or hyperechoic components.

Results

The DSC (median [95% confidence interval]) was 0.91 [0.78, 0.96], andR HD - D was 0.04 [0.01, 0.12], indicating strong agreement with expert outlines. Clinical review of the internal separation of masses into echogenic components demonstrated a strong association with mass characteristics.

Conclusion

A combined U-net and FCM algorithm for automatic segmentation of adnexal masses and their internal components achieved excellent results compared with expert outlines and review, supporting future radiomic feature-based classification of the masses by components.

Evaluation of a symptom-based score in combination with CA125 to predict ovarian malignancy in women with adnexal mass

BACKGROUND

Adnexal masses are a common problem seen in women. The aim of this study was to determine the appropriate cut-off for symptom-based score to predict ovarian malignancy in women with adnexal mass and to evaluate it in combination with CA125.

METHODS

This was a prospective study involving 341 women with adnexal mass who underwent surgery. A symptom-based scoring system was administered to the women, preoperatively, and CA125 levels were documented. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to determine the appropriate cut-off for the symptom-based scoring. Results for this symptom-based scoring and CA125 were correlated with surgical pathological findings.

RESULTS

Out of the 341 women with adnexal mass, 112 were diagnosed to have ovarian malignancy. The mean age of women was 43.6±13.8 years. Using ROC analysis, symptom score ≥9 was determined to be the appropriate cut-off. The area under curve (AUC) at this cut-off score was found to be 0.87 (95% CI 0.83-0.91). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) at this cut-off was found to be 84.8%, 88.6%,78.5%, and 92.3%, respectively. Combining CA125 and symptom score resulted in higher sensitivity (96.4%) and NPV (97.4%) with specificity and PPV of 65.5% and 57.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Symptom score in combination with CA125 has good ability to predict ovarian malignancy in women with adnexal masses.

Factors Influencing the Discordancy Between Intraoperative Frozen Sections and Final Paraffin Pathologies in Ovarian Tumors

Aim

To retrospectively investigate the pre-operative clinical factors and ultrasonographic features that influence the accuracy of the intraoperative frozen section (IFS) of ovarian tumors.

Patients and methods

Women with ovarian tumors that underwent IFS in one tertiary medical center were recruited from January 2010 to December 2018. Demographic and clinical data of these women were retrieved from medical records in the hospital's centralized database.

Results

A total of 903 ovarian tumors were enrolled, including 237 (26.2%) benign, 150 (16.6%) borderline tumor, and 516 (57.2%) malignant. The overall accuracy of IFS among all specimens was 89.9%. The sensitivities of IFS in diagnosing borderline tumors (82.0%) and malignant tumors (88.2%) were lower than in diagnosing benign tumors (98.7%, p <0.001, Z-test). The specificity of diagnosing malignant tumors (99.7%) was significantly higher than that of diagnosing benign tumors (94.7%, p <0.001, Z-test). The group with discordant IFS and final paraffin pathology (FPP) had younger age (47.2 ± 14.0 vs. 51.5 ± 11.8 years, p = 0.013, Mann-Whitney U test), and higher percentage of early-stage disease (85.2% vs. 65.1%, p = 0.001, chi-square test) and mucinous (39.3% vs. 3.3%) and endometrioid histologic types (34.4% vs. 20.2%) than the concordant group (all by chi-square test). Menopause (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.15-0.76, p = 0.009), multicystic tumor in ultrasound (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.14-4.01, p = 0.018), and ascites existence (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.14-0.82, p = 0.016) were factors related to the discordant IFS by multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

IFS has good accuracy in the diagnosis of ovarian tumors. We recommend more frozen tissue sampling for sonographic multicystic tumors in premenopausal women to improve the accuracy of IFS.

The prevalence of endometrioma and associated malignant transformation in women over 40 years of age

OBJECTIVE

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent chronic disease, which is regarded as a disease of reproductive-aged women. Endometriosis is most frequently diagnosed during reproductive period. We aimed to determine the frequency of endometrioma in women over 40 years of age who were operated for adnexial mass.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 1100 women over 40 years of age underwent surgery for adnexal mass were included in this cohort study between 2006 and 2016. Women who met the criteria were compared regarding the type of adnexial mass, age groups, menopausal status and malignant transformation.

RESULTS

A total of 299 women (27.2 %) with benign ovarian mass were determined to have endometrioma. Women with endometrioma were younger and nulliparous more frequently comparing women without endometrioma. Although 20 % of the patients in the endometrioma group were postmenopausal, 70 % of the patients in the control group were postmenopausal. Endometrioma-associated ovarian tumors were developed in nearly 11 % of women with endometrioma.

CONCLUSIONS

Even though endometriosis is accepted as a disease of reproductive-aged women, it can occur over 40 years of age. Detailed anamnesis and careful gynecological examination provide key information for differential diagnosis. Accurate information about the risk of malignant transformation should be informed.

A 27-kg Giant Ovarian Mucinous Cystadenoma in a 72-Year-Old Postmenopausal Patient: A Case Report

BACKGROUND Mucinous cystadenoma is a benign cystic ovarian tumor arising from the surface epithelium of the ovary; it usually presents with vague, unspecific abdominal symptoms. If not detected early, they have the potential to grow to a substantial size and can present with huge abdominal distention leading to various compression symptoms. Mucinous cystadenomas most commonly occur in the third to sixth decades of life, and rarely occur in extremes of age. The reported incidence of giant ovarian cystadenoma in postmenopausal women is low or relatively unknown due to widespread use of ultrasound and other radiological imaging modalities these days. Here, we report a case of giant mucinous cystadenoma in a 72-year-old postmenopausal woman with multiple comorbidities. CASE REPORT We present the case of a 72-year-old postmenopausal high-risk patient who presented with a huge abdominal distention which started gradually 1 year before. Abdominopelvic ultrasound showed a left giant multiloculated abdominal cyst. An intact 27-kg ovarian cyst was removed, and a total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) along with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) was performed. The final histopathological report showed a benign ovarian mucinous cystadenoma. CONCLUSIONS Mucinous cystadenoma is a benign neoplastic disease that can reach a massive size. They are rare in the postmenopausal age group, but when they do occur, they pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. This case report highlights the importance of early detection and management of adnexal masses in postmenopausal high-risk patients to decrease preoperative and postoperative complications and improve quality of life.

Development and Validation of a Predictive Score for Preoperative Diagnosis of Early Stage Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Objective: To develop and validate a simplified multi-parameter risk-based scoring system for preoperative diagnosis of early stage epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: All women presented with adnexal mass and were scheduled for operation at Phrapokklao hospital during September 2013 – December 2017 were included and categorized according to their histopathologic reports into early stage ovarian cancer groups and benign ovarian tumor groups. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore for potential predictors. The selected logistic coefficients were transformed into risk-based scoring system. Internal validation was done with bootstrapping procedure. Results: A total of 270 participants were included in analysis and predictive model development, 54 in early stage ovarian cancer group and 216 in benign ovarian tumor group. Menopausal status, two abnormal ultrasound findings (presence of solid component or ascites), tumor size and serum CA-125 level were used for derivation of the scoring system. The score-based model showed area under ROC of 0.88 (95%CI 0.82-0.93). The developed scoring system ranged from 0 to 51 was classified into 3 subcategories for clinical practicability. The positive predictive values for the presence of early stage ovarian cancer were 2.07 (95%CI 0.43-6.05) for low risk patient, 29.13(95%CI 19.65-41.58) for moderate risk patient, and 95.45(95%CI 77.16-99.88) for high risk patient. Conclusion: This simplified risk-based scoring system for preoperative diagnosis of early stage ovarian cancer could aid general physicians or general gynecologists in evaluation of patients presenting with ovarian tumors and help gynecologic oncologists in management planning and prioritization of patients for operation.

Laparoscopic versus laparotomic surgery for adnexal masses: role in elderly

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study is to compare laparoscopy (LPS) and laparotomy (LPT), in terms of surgical outcomes, in elderly patients (>65 years) with adnexal masses.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed a series of women older than 65 who had a diagnosis of adnexal masses. Then, all patients were divided into two different groups according to the type of surgery: 27 who underwent LPS (LPS group) and 24 who underwent LPT (LPT group). We took into consideration: age, comorbidity, histological diagnosis, surgery approach, and surgical outcome. Then, we calculated the percentages of all of these data and then χ (2) test and t-Student test were used to calculate the p value, to compare the two surgical techniques. A p value lower than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

RESULTS

At first, we evaluated the relation between the diagnosis and the surgery approach, and we obtained statistically significant results for serous cyst, adenocarcinoma serous/mucinous, and others, and the table highlights that some of the benign masses were mostly treated with LPS, while borderline and malignant masses were treated with LPT. Then, we evaluated the comorbidities of the patients, and we found that those cases had a significantly higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease and metabolic diseases. Finally, we compared the surgery outcome of LPS versus LPT surgeries for adnexal masses in elderly women, and there were statistically significant results for postoperative complications, number of patients who needed drainage, and number of days of hospitalization after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrated that the patients who underwent LPS, compared to the patients who underwent LPT, have better outcomes in terms of postoperative complications (7.4 % with LPS and 37 % with LPT), number of patients who needed drainage (11.1 % with LPS and 62.5 % with LPT), and number of days of hospitalization after surgery, in term of mean (5 for LPS and 10.9 in term of LPT).