Endometriosis-Related Ovarian Cancer: Where Are We Now? A Narrative Review towards a Pragmatic Approach

BACKGROUND

Endometriosis affects more than 10% of reproductive-aged women, causing pelvic pain and infertility. Despite the benign nature of endometriosis, ovarian endometriomas carry a higher risk of developing endometrioid carcinomas (EnOCs) and clear cell ovarian carcinomas (CCCs). Atypical endometriosis, defined as cytological atypia resembling intraepithelial cancer, is considered the precursor of endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC). This narrative review aims to provide an overview of EAOC, proposing a practical approach to clinical and therapeutic decision making.

METHODS

An electronic literature search was conducted from inception up to January 2023, using the MEDLINE database via PubMed to evaluate the existing literature on EAOC, including its pathogenesis, the diagnostic process, and the therapeutic possibilities, with articles not relevant to the topic or lacking scientific merit being excluded.

RESULTS

Eighty-one articles were included in the review to present the current state of the art regarding EAOC. A pragmatic clinical flowchart is proposed to guide therapeutic decisions and improve patient outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Endometriosis patients may have an increased risk of developing EAOC (either EnOC or CCC). Despite not being fully accepted, the concept of AE may reshape the endometriosis-ovarian cancer relationship. Further research is needed to understand the unaddressed issues.

[Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of primary congenital glaucoma]

INTRODUCTION

Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is a rare and sight threatening condition. Few large epidemiological studies are available in the literature concerning this condition. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children affected by PCG.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

Children affected by PCG, from 1 day to 3 years old at the time of diagnosis were retrospectively included between 1999 and 2014. The analysis concerned the pregnancy, family history, initial referral, clinical presentation with description of the classic findings in this condition, mean age at first consultation, duration of follow-up and presence of a delay in treatment, defined as a delay of over one month from the appearance of clinical signs until diagnosis. Two groups were defined according to age at appearance of the clinical signs: "early" group prior to 2 months old and "late" group beyond 2 months up until 3 years old.

RESULTS

One hundred and forty-one eyes of 71 children were included, with 49.3% girls (n=35 children) and 50.7% boys (n=36 children) for a male:female ratio of 1.02. The "early" group included 50 children i.e. 70.3% of the population; the "late" group 21 children or 29.7% of the population. A first-degree family history of congenital glaucoma existed in 28% of cases (n=19). The average age at first consultation was 13.1 months for the entire population, and the mean duration of follow-up was 56.6 months. Involvement was bilateral in 99.3% of cases (n=70 children) and the most frequent clinical sign was buphthalmos in 64.5% of eyes (n=91 eyes). Treatment was delayed in 35.3% of cases (n=25 children).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study is of particular relevance because it was performed over a long period and on a large population, considering the rare prevalence of the pathology, and has found epidemiological and clinical data comparable with those available in the literature for similar populations.

Long-term follow-up of patients treated with glatiramer acetate: a multicentre, multinational extension of the European/Canadian double-blind, placebo-controlled, MRI-monitored trial

Glatiramer acetate (GA) is effective in reducing clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Serial long-term MRI data are lacking for large cohorts of GA-treated patients. The European/Canadian GA study consisted of two consecutive phases, each lasting nine months. The first treatment phase was randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. The second was an open-label, active treatment phase with daily administration of 20 mg GA subcutaneously for all patients. For the long-term follow-up (LTFU), dual echo, pre- and postgadolinium T1-weighted brain MRI scans were obtained with the same acquisition scheme as for the original trial and a neurological assessment was performed. Lesion volumes, normalized brain volumes and percentage brain volume changes (PBVC) were measured. One hundred and forty-two (63.4%) of the 224 patients who completed the two phases of the European/Canadian study underwent the LTFU after a mean period of 5.8 years (range: 5.3-6.4); 73 were treated with GA from study initiation. MRI measures at LTFU did not significantly differ between patients originally assigned to placebo and those who were always treated with GA, but the proportion of patients who did not require walking aids at LTFU was lower in the latter group (P=0.034). PBVC between baseline and LTFU was significantly correlated with lesion load at study entry. An earlier initiation of GA treatment in patients with active RRMS might, at least partially, have a favourable impact on long-term disease evolution. Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 502-508. http://msj.sagepub.com

[Etiology and precipitating factors of cyclic vomiting]

The aim of the study was to determine the nature, severity, precipitants and associated features of attacks and the incidence of potential aetiological factors of cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). Ten patients (6 boys and 4 girls aged 2-12 years) with CVS, defined as recurrent episodes of vomiting with symptom-free intervals occurring two or more times per year, with episodes having a similar pattern and for which no other cause could be found, ten patients (7 boys and 3 girls aged 7-14 years) with migraine, defined as recurrent headache with symptom-free intervals and at least three of the following symptoms or associated findings: abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, throbbing headache, unilateral location, associated aura (visual, sensory, motor), relief after sleeping and ten controls (6 boys and 4 girls aged 4-13 years) were studied. The mean age at onset of symptoms in patients with CVS was 3.9 years and the mean number of attacks per year was 4, the average duration of episodes was 20.5 hours and the mean number of school missed days were 6 per year. The mean age at onset of symptoms in patients with migraine was 7.6 years and the mean number of attacks per year was 9.9, the average duration of episodes was 8 hours and the mean number of school missed days were 6.4 per year. A family history of migraine was significantly higher in both groups of patients, compared with controls (p = 0.009). A personal history of headache and/or migraine and associated sign or symptoms like recurrent abdominal pains, limb pain and kinetosis was significantly higher in both patients compared with controls (p < 0.001). CVS is a chronic, disabling condition and is a migraine variant, with attacks usually precipitated by stress and intercurrent infections.

Effect of serum from HIV-infected subjects on superoxide production by polymorphonuclear neutrophils

Superoxide (O2.-) production by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) was assessed in 17 subjects with asymptomatic infection (AI), 16 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and 12 healthy normal subjects. The effect of patients' serum on the oxidative activity of normal and patients' PMN was also investigated. The O2.- production, nonstimulated and stimulated with zymosan particles in the presence of normal serum, was similar to that of normal controls in both groups of patients. The serum from 11 out of the 17 AI subjects (65%) induced an increase in the stimulated O2.- production in normal and patients' PMN, while the serum from 8 out of the 16 AIDS patients (50%) induced a diminution. These effects did not appear to be related to complement C3 and circulating immune complex levels, but suggest that PMN of HIV-seropositive patients do not present an intrinsic dysfunction and that the impact of serum factor(s) affects the normal oxidative activity of these cells depending on the stage of infection.

Cerebral complications of coronary by-pass surgery. A prospective study

A prospective study was undertaken of cerebral complications in 91 patients undergoing coronary by-pass surgery. Patients showing clinically relevant neurological complications had longer pump-times but did not differ in pre-operative variables. Worsening of neurological state correlated with duration of pump-time but not with pre-operative variables. Duration of pump-time appears to be the main predictor of neurological complications after coronary by-pass surgery.

Quality extinction test and lateralized EEG focality: preliminary observations in a group of epileptic patients

73 primary epileptic patients, grouped according to their clinical picture and EEG focality, were evaluated by means of a test of tactile extinction (Quality Extinction Test) in order to assess the usefulness of this test in detecting lateralized cerebral malfunctioning in neurological functional diseases. The data indicate an increase of tactile extinction in epileptic patients and a good relationship between side of focality and side of extinction.

Lateralized cerebral impairment in schizophrenia. A critical review

The authors review the more recent areas of research in the field of cerebral lateralized dysfunction in schizophrenia. The different approach consistently suggest a definite degree of abnormality in hemispheric functioning in schizophrenic patients: nevertheless, the heterogeneity of patients' populations, as well as some inherent characteristic of the disease (i.e. duration of the illness, length of hospitalization, duration of drug treatment and psychopathological symptoms) should be taken into the account in order to obtain a more accurate definition of the cerebral impairment in schizophrenia.

The asymmetric lateralization of tactile extinction in schizophrenia: the possible role of limbic and frontal regions

This study evaluates the tactile extinction rate in acute and chronic schizophrenics by means of the Quality Extinction Test (QET) proposed by Schwartz in 1977. This procedure is successful in detecting ipsilateral abnormal extinction rates in neurological patients with dominant frontal lesions. Sixty schizophrenics and sixty controls were tested. The results suggest adominant temporo-parietal dysfunction in acute patients and a dominant frontal dysfunction in chronic patients.