Should indications for laterally extended endopelvic resection (LEER) exclude patients with sciatica?

Safety and feasibility of laterally extended endopelvic resection for sarcoma in the female genital tract: a prospective cohort study

Objective

This study aims to evaluate the safety and feasibility of laterally extended endopelvic resection (LEER) for sarcoma in the female genital tract.

Methods

We prospectively recruited gynecologic cancer patients with sarcoma arising from female genital tract who underwent LEER at Seoul National University Hospital from December 2016 to March 2021. Clinicopathologic characteristics, surgical outcomes including postoperative complications and pain control, and survival outcomes of the patients were investigated.

Results

A total of nine patients were registered for this study. The median age was 56 years. Carcinosarcoma (n=2, 22%), leiomyosarcoma (n=2, 22%), and undifferentiated uterine sarcoma (n=2, 22%) were common histology types. Complete resection was achieved in 88.9%. The most common location of pelvic sidewall tumors was infra-iliac acetabulum (66.7%). The pathologic outcome showed a median tumor size of 9.0 cm and internal iliac vessel resection with pelvic sidewall muscle was performed in all patients. The median estimated blood loss was 1,600 mL (range, 300–22,300), and the patients were postoperatively admitted to the intensive care unit for median 1 day (range, 0–8). Complete response was observed in 44.4% (4/9) in radiologic studies after LEER, and median progression-free survival, treatment-related survival, and overall survival were 3.3, 19.6, and 98.9 months, respectively.

Conclusion

LEER was feasible and safe in treating recurrent sarcoma presenting pelvic sidewall invasion with acceptable survival outcomes and manageable postoperative complications.

Laterally Extended Endopelvic Resection Versus Chemo or Targeted Therapy Alone for Pelvic Sidewall Recurrence of Cervical Cancer

Background

Laterally extended endopelvic resection (LEER) has been introduced for treatment of pelvic sidewall recurrence of cervical cancer (PSRCC), which occurs in only 8% of patients with relapsed cervical cancer. LEER can only be performed by a proficient surgeon due to the high risk of surgical morbidity and mortality, but there is no evidence as to whether LEER is may be more effective than chemo or targeted therapy alone for PSRCC. Thus, we aimed to compare the efficacy and safety between LEER and chemo or targeted therapy alone for treatment of PSRCC.

Methods

We prospectively recruited patients with PSRCC who underwent LEER between December 2016 and December 2019. Moreover, we retrospectively collected data on patients with PSRCC who received chemo or targeted therapy alone between January 2000 and December 2019. We compared treatment-free interval (TFI), progression-free survival (PFS), treatment-free survival (TFS), overall survival (OS), tumor response, neurologic disturbance of the low extremities, and pelvic pain severity in the different patient groups.

Results

Among 1295 patients with cervical cancer, we included 28 (2.2%) and 31 (2.4%) in the prospective and retrospective cohorts, respectively. When we subdivided all patients into two groups based on the median value of prior TFI (PTFI, 9.2 months), LEER improved TFI, PFS, TRS and OS compared to chemo or targeted therapy alone (median, 2.8 vs. 0.9; 7.4 vs. 4.1; 30.1 vs. 16.9 months; P ≤ 0.05) in patients with PTFI < 9.2 months despite no difference in survival in those with PTFI ≥ 9.2 months, suggesting that LEER may lead to better TFI, PFS, TRS and OS in patients with PTFI < 9.2 months (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.28, 0.27, 0.44 and 0.37; 95% confidence intervals, 0.12-0.68, 0.11-0.66, 0.18-0.83 and 0.15-0.88). Furthermore, LEER markedly reduced the number of morphine milligram equivalents necessary to reduce pelvic pain when compared with chemo or targeted therapy alone.

Conclusion

Compared to chemo or targeted therapy alone, LEER improved survival in patients with PSRCC and PTFI < 9.2 months, and it was effective at controlling the pelvic pain associated with PSRCC.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02986568.