Osteosarcoma of the Myometrium Synchronous with Bilateral Papillary Cystadenocarcinoma of the Ovary and Papillary Adenocarcinoma of the Cervix

We report an extremely rare case of a 60-year-old woman with myometrial osteosarcoma associated with bilateral papillary cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary and papillary adenocarcinoma of the cervix. The uterine osteosarcoma is the seventh case reported in the world, while it is the second case of syncronous triple primary tumors of the upper female genital tract. Clinical and pathological features of previously reported cases of uterine osteosarcoma and triple primary neoplasias of the upper female genital tract are critically reviewed.

Laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of stage I adult granulosa cells tumors of the ovary: Results from the MITO-9 study

OBJECTIVE

Surgery represents the mainstay of treatment of stage I adult type granulosa cell tumors of the ovary (AGCTs). Because of the rarity and indolent course of the disease, no prospective trials are available. Open surgery has long been considered the traditional approach; oncological safety of laparoscopy is only supported by small series or case reports. The aim of this study was to compare the oncological outcomes between laparoscopic and open surgery in stage I AGCTs treated within the MITO (Multicenter Italian Trials in Ovarian cancer) Group.

METHODS

Data from patients with stage I AGCTs were retrospectively collected. Clinicopathological features were evaluated for association with relapse and death. Survival curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. The role of clinicopathological variables as prognostic factors for survival was evaluated using Cox's regression model.

RESULTS

223 patients were identified. Stage 1A, 1B and 1C were 61.5%, 1.3% and 29.6% respectively. 7.6% were apparently stage I. Surgical approach was laparoscopic for 93 patients (41.7%) and open for 130 (58.3%). 5-years DFS was 84% and 82%, 10-years DFS was 68% and 64% for the laparoscopic and open-group (p = 0.6).5-years OS was 100% and 99%, 10 years OS was 98% and 97% for the laparoscopic and open-surgery group (p = 0.8). At multivariate analyses stage IC, incomplete staging, site of primary surgery retained significant prognostic value.

CONCLUSION

The present study suggests that surgical route does not affect the oncological safety of patients with stage I AGCTs, with comparable outcomes between laparoscopic and open approach.

The role of staging and adjuvant chemotherapy in stage I malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGTs): the MITO-9 study

Background

Surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard of care for MOGCTs, except for stage IA dysgerminoma and stage IA grade 1 immature teratoma where surveillance only is recommended. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy and surgical staging is debated.

Patients and methods

Data from 144 patients with stage I MOGTs were collected among MITO centers (Multicenter Italian Trials in Ovarian Cancer) and analyzed.

Results

Fifty-five (38.2%) patients were affected by dysgerminomas, 49 (34%) by immature teratomas, 26 (18.1%) by yolk sac tumors and 14 (9.7%) by mixed tumors. Seventy-three (50.7%) patients receive surgery plus chemotherapy, while 71 (49.3%) patients underwent surgery alone. The latter group included 32 dysgerminomas (14 IA-13 Ix, 3 IB, and 2 IC), 34 immature teratomas (20 1A-13 IA grade 1, 6 Ix, 1 IB, and 7 IC), 4 mixed tumors and 1 yolk sac tumor. Forty-four patients did not received chemotherapy, even if it would have been indicated by recommended approach. 94 (65.3%) patients received peritoneal surgical staging. Twenty-three (15.9%) developed a recurrence. Incomplete surgical staging was associated with recurrence (P < 0.05; OR 2.37) at Cox regression analysis. Seven patients died. Four patients were affected by yolk sac tumors, two by mixed tumors and one by immature teratoma. Five patients died for disease, one for acute leukemia and one for suicide. Prognostic parameter analyses showed that yolk sac component is a predictor for survival (P < 0.05). Five-years OS rates were 96.8% and 88.7% in the surgically staged and the incomplete staged group, respectively, while 93.8% and 94.1% in the standard treatment and in the surveillance group, respectively.

Conclusions

This study shows that surveillance seems not to affect survival; chemotherapy should be reserved for relapse resulting in high cure rate. Incomplete peritoneal surgical staging is associated with recurrence. Yolk sac histology worsens the prognosis.

Has serum CA 125 assay at the time of relapse a prognostic relevance for patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma after primary cytoreduction and platinum- and paclitaxel-based chemotherapy?

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION

To correlate serum CA125 at relapse with survival in ovarian cancer patients who achieved a complete response after primary cytoreduction and paclitaxel- and platinum-based chemotherapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted in 104 patients.

RESULTS

The 25%, 50%, and 75% quantiles of CA125 levels at relapse were 46, 118, and 190 U/ml. By log-rank test, survival after recurrence was related to consolidation treatment (p = 0.046), platinum-free interval (PFI) (p < 0.000005), number of recurrence sites (p = 0.03), treatment at recurrence (p = 0.002), and serum CA125 taking 118 U/ml as cut-off (p = 0.013). On multivariate analysis, consolidation treatment (p = 0.007), PFI (p = 0.0001), treatment at recurrence (p = 0.01), and serum CA125 taking 118 U/ml as cut-off (p = 0.04) were independent prognostic variables for survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum CA125 at relapse was an independent prognostic variable. Patients with serum CA125 > 118 U/m had 1.943 higher risk of death than those with lower antigen value.

Clear cell endometrial cancer: a CTF multicentre Italian study

Endometrial clear cell carcinoma (CCC) is a rare entity and only accounts for 1-6% of all endometrial cancers. CCC is considered an aggressive subtype of endometrial cancer with worse prognosis compared with type I cancer and more frequent relapses at distant and extrapelvic sites. These characteristics require specific treatment modalities, but rarity of the disease does not allow to identify evidence based indications for therapies. Objective of the present study is to analyse a series of cases treated in a multicentre Italian setting.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sixty-five endometrial CCC were treated in the period 1990-2010 in the participating institutions. Slides of the pathological specimens were reviewed by a single pathologist of each institution and debatable cases were collegially reviewed. Clinical records were collected by a common database. Demographic, surgical pathological, and follow-up data were registered. Results: All patients received primary surgery. Stage of disease according FIGO 2009 was as follow: l a: 16.9%, lb: 35.4%, 2: 9.2%, 3a: 9.2%, 3b: 3.1%, 3c: 16.9%, 4a: 3.1%, and 4b: 6.1%. Adjuvant post-operative treatment was adopted in 53.8% of cases. A relapse was detected in 29.2% of cases with a majority of extrapelvic sites (68.4%). Five-year survival rate was significantly related to stage of disease with an excellent prognosis for Stage Ia e lb disease with a complete staging. In these cases adjuvant treatment does not show significant improvement of survival. Relapsed cases show a response rate to treatment in 26% of cases (predominantly chemotherapy).

CONCLUSION

CCC requires extensive surgical staging. Stage I disease completely staged does not require adjuvant therapy. More advanced stages require adjuvant chemotherapy.

Alternatives to risk-reducing surgery for ovarian cancer

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers have an 18%-60% and 11%-27% lifetime risk of developing ovarian carcinoma, respectively. Prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy reduces the risk of this malignancy by up to 96%. Gynecological screening programs with periodical trans-vaginal ultrasound and serum CA125 assay have been widely used in women at hereditary high risk of ovarian carcinoma, but clinical results have been conflicting. These surveillance protocols have often fallen short of expectations because of the advanced stage of ovarian carcinoma in the identified screened women. Several investigations have been addressed to the detection of additional tumor markers able to generate more reliable screening tools. The combined serum assay of leptin, prolactin, osteopontin, CA125, macrophage inhibiting factor and insulin-like growth factor-II appears to have a significant better diagnostic reliability compared with serum CA125 alone in discriminating healthy individuals from ovarian carcinoma patients, and therefore, it could have a role in the screening of women at high risk for this malignancy. As far as chemoprevention is concerned, oral contraceptives significantly reduce the ovarian carcinoma risk also in BRCA mutation carriers, whereas the efficacy of fenretinide is still under investigation.

Is there a role for postoperative treatment in patients with stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer treated with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery? An Italian multicenter retrospective study

PURPOSE

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy [NACT] followed by radical hysterectomy is an alternative therapeutic option to concurrent chemotherapy-radiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer. However there are very few data about the effectiveness of any post-operative treatment in this clinical setting. The purpose of this study was to correlate the patterns of recurrence and the clinical outcomes of cervical cancer patients who received NACT, with postoperative adjuvant treatment.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective multicenter study included 333 patients with FIGO stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer who underwent platinum-based NACT followed by radical surgery. Pathological responses were retrospectively assessed as complete; optimal partial; and suboptimal response. Overall optimal response rate was the sum of complete and optimal partial response rates.

RESULTS

On the whole series, recurrence-free survival was significantly longer in patients who achieved an overall optimal response than in those who did not (p<0.0001), and in patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy compared to those who did not (p=0.0001). On multivariate analysis, consolidation therapy (p=0.0012) was the only independent prognostic variable for recurrence-free survival; whereas FIGO stage (p=0.0169) and consolidation therapy (p=0.0016) were independent prognostic variables for overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Optimal responders after chemo-surgical treatment for FIGO stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer do not need any further treatment. Additional cycles of chemotherapy could be of benefit for patients with suboptimal response and intra-cervical residual disease. Both adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiation treatments do not seem to improve the clinical outcome of patients with extra-cervical residual disease compared to no further treatment.

Pathological response on surgical samples is an independent prognostic variable for patients with Stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical hysterectomy: an Italian multicenter retrospective study (CTF Study)

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this retrospective multicenter study was to correlate patterns of recurrences and clinical outcome of cervical cancer patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy [NACT] to surgery.

METHODS

This study was conducted on 333 patients with FIGO stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer who underwent NACT to surgery with pelvic lymphadenectomy. The median follow-up was 66.5 months (range, 8-212 months). Overall optimal response rate was the sum of complete and optimal partial response rates.

RESULTS

An overall optimal response was obtained in 64 patients (19.2%). As for the 220 sub-optimal responders (66.1%), 127 patients had negative nodes and negative parametria and/or surgical margins, 75 patients had positive nodes with positive or negative parametria and/or surgical margins, and 18 patients had positive parametria and/or surgical margins with negative nodes. At the time of the present analysis, 79 (23.7%) of the 333 patients had a recurrence after a median time of 14.9 months (range, 4.5-123 months). Recurrent disease was pelvic in 50 (63.3%), extra-pelvic in 22 (27.9%), and both in 7 (8.8%). On multivariate analysis, pathological response to NACT was an independent prognostic variable for recurrence-free and overall survival. Patients who did not achieve an overall optimal response had a 2.757-fold higher risk of recurrence and a 5.413-fold higher risk of death than those who obtained an overall optimal response.

CONCLUSIONS

Results appear to suggest that the chemo-surgical approach is an effective therapeutic option for patients with stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer and that pathological response to NACT is the strongest prognostic factor for the outcome.

Analysis of failures and clinical outcome of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer in patients with microscopic residual disease at second-look reassessment following primary cytoreductive surgery and first-line platinum-based chemotherapy

AIM

To assess the pattern of failure and survival of advanced ovarian cancer patients with microscopic residual disease at second-look following cytoreductive surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Nine-five women were retrospectively analyzed. Residual disease after initial surgery was > one cm in 58 (61.1%) patients, first-line chemotherapy was paclitaxel/platinum-based in 70 (73.7%) patients, second-look findings showed no macroscopic residuum but positive random peritoneal biopsies and/or positive washing ("true" microscopic residual disease) in 79 (83.2%) patients, and a macroscopic residuum which was completely resected (converted complete response) in 16(16.8%) patients.

RESULTS

Eight-one (85.2%) patients developed recurrent disease after a median time of 14 months (range four to 51). The abdomen (29.6%) and the pelvis (28.4%) were the most common sites of failure. Two- and five-year survival after second-look were 78.1% and 31.0%, respectively. The clinical and pathological features with prognostic relevance at presentation (age, histotype, and tumor grade), as well as type of first-line chemotherapy and treatment after second-look were not related to the clinical outcome. There was a trend for a better survival in patients with optimal primary cytoreduction compared with those with suboptimal primary cytoreduction (five-year survival = 42.7% vs 23.4%). There was no significant difference in survival between the converted complete responders and the patients with "true" microscopic residual disease.

CONCLUSIONS

These data confirm the unsatisfactory clinical outcome of patients with microscopic residual disease after first-line chemotherapy and the limited benefit of second-look reassessment.

p53 nuclear accumulation in preneoplastic lesions and stage I uterine endometrioid adenocarcinoma

A total of 118 endometrial neoplastic and preneoplastic lesions comprising 43 uterine endometrioid adenocarcinoma at stage I, 40 complex (adenomatous) hyperplasias and 35 atypical hyperplasias were examined for p53 nuclear accumulation to assess the incidence of p53 alterations in infiltrating carcinomas and to verify if p53 aberrations may allow the identification of a subset of premalignant cases with high risk of progression. No specific immunostaining was observed in the cases of complex hyperplasia without atypias. One (3%) of 35 atypical hyperplasias showed focal areas of p53 immuno-reactivity. The overall frequency of p53 overexpression in endometrial carcinomas was 54%. The distribution of cases with nuclear accumulation of p53 was significantly different (p=0.01) in tumours with different degree of invasiveness. In addition, p53 nuclear accumulation was observed more often in tumours with moderate (G2) or poor differentiation (G3) (p=0.03). Our data indicate that p53 aberrations are not early events in endometrial carcinogenesis and may be related with tumour progression and aggressiveness.

Benign breast diseases, contraception and hormone replacement therapy

The term benign breast disease includes a wide and heterogenous spectrum of lesions different for histology and natural history. Approximately 70% of women who undergo a biopsy for benign breast disease have non-proliferative lesions with no increased risk of breast cancer, 26% have typical hyperplasia which is associated with a two-fold increased risk, and only 4% have atypical hyperplasia which is associated with a five-fold increased risk. The data on the effect of steroid hormones on benign breast disease come from observational studies with several potential bias. Most papers have reported that oral contraceptives protect against benign breast disease, whereas some others have suggested that effects of pill are not yet fully clear. As far as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is concerned, some studies have shown an increased incidence of benign breast disease in long-term HRT users, whereas other investigations have found either no effect or a protective effect. The use of HRT does not appear to influence the clinical pattern of benign breast disease in postmenopausal women, although enlargement of pre-existing cysts or fibroadenomas has been sometimes reported. The limited available data failed to detect a deleterious effect of HRT use in women with benign breast disease, even in those with increased breast cancer risk due to a family history or high-risk benign breast conditions.

Prognostic value of lymph node status and number of removed nodes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva treated with modified radical vulvectomy and inguinal-femoral lymphadenectomy

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION

To assess the outcome of patients with squamous cell vulvar carcinoma treated with deep partial or total vulvectomy and inguinal-femoral lymphadenectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The authors assessed 87 patients who underwent primary surgery.

RESULTS

Tumor recurred in 34 patients, and the first relapse was local in 19, inguinal in ten, and distant in five. Five-year disease-free survival was 56.7% and was related to Stage (p < 0.0001), grade (p = 0.023), and node status (p < 0.0001). Groin failure occurred in 4.9% of node-negative patients compared with 29.6% of node-positive patients (p = 0.0096). Distant recurrences only developed in women with positive nodes. Among the 47 patients who underwent bilateral lymphadenectomy and who had negative nodes, groin recurrence occurred in 12% of those who had < or = 15 nodes removed and 0% of those who had > 15 nodes removed.

CONCLUSIONS

Stage and node status were the most important prognostic variables. There was a trend favoring a better groin control in patients with node-negative disease who underwent extensive lymphadenectomy.

Is adjuvant chemotherapy indicated in stage I pure immature ovarian teratoma (IT)? A multicentre Italian trial in ovarian cancer (MITO-9)

OBJECTIVE

Conservative surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy is considered the standard approach for stage I immature ovarian teratoma (IT), except for stage IA G1. Nevertheless the use of chemotherapy in stage IA G2-3 and IB-IC is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of patients with IT in order to define the role of chemotherapy in stage I disease.

METHODS

Twenty-eight patients with stage I IT treated in MITO centers were retrospectively reviewed. Grade, stage, age, surgical and postoperative treatment were analyzed using χ(2) test and T test looking for association with recurrence.

RESULTS

Median age was 25.5. Twenty-four patients underwent fertility-sparing surgery. FIGO stages were 19 IA, 2 IB, and 7 IC. Nine patients had grade 1 tumor, 12 grade 2, and 7 grade 3. Nine patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Overall recurrence rate was 21.4% (2 in chemotherapy group and 4 in the group without treatment). No patients with G1 had recurrence, whereas 25% of G2 and 42.9% of G3 relapsed. Recurrence rate was not significantly different according to stage, grade or adjuvant chemotherapy, whereas it was greater in the group not operated in a MITO center, not staged and of age lower than 20 years, with statistical significance. At recurrence 4 patients presenting with mature teratoma were treated with surgery alone, whereas 2 recurring with IT were treated with surgery plus chemotherapy. After a median follow-up of 59 months all patients are NED.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that chemotherapy may be withheld for primary therapy and utilized only for recurrence.

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the management of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: a critical review of the literature

The use of intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy has been advocated in different settings of patients with ovarian cancer. Cisplatin is the drug of choice because of its high response rate and minimal local toxicity. This treatment can be given to women with small residual disease after second look, with surgically assessed complete response rates of approximately 30%, and with a prolonged survival in small subset of patients. However, the use of IP chemotherapy as consolidation treatment of pathologically complete responders after first-line systemic chemotherapy has not been definitively evaluated in a phase III trial. There is much debate in the literature both for and against the use of IP chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of optimally debulked ovarian cancer patients. The recent Cochrane meta-analyses of eight randomized trials enrolling 1819 patients has shown that first-line IP chemotherapy improves progression-free survival and overall survival of patients with minimal residual disease after initial surgery. However, the potential for catheter-related complications, abdominal pain with infusion, and toxicities needs to be taken into consideration for decision making in each individual woman. Rectosigmoidal surgery can be associated with gross contamination of the operative field, and in this case, the catheter placement should not be performed during primary surgery but should be delayed to 3 weeks later. Patients should be provided with information on the survival and toxicity for both IP and systemic treatments, as well as practical information about the administration of each regimen, so that they may be involved in the decision-making process.

Correlation of recurrence rates and times with posttreatment human papillomavirus status in patients treated with loop electrosurgical excision procedure conization for cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions

The aim of the present study was to assess recurrence rates and times in patients with squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) of the uterine cervix treated with loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) conization, in order to define categories of patients who have a different risk of recurrence and who need a different surveillance protocol. This study was carried out on 119 consecutive patients who underwent LEEP. All patients were followed up with cervical smear and colposcopy after 3, 6, and 12 months in the first-year posttreatment, and every 6-12 months afterwards. Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing was performed at the time of LEEP and repeated 3-6 months later. The histologic examination of LEEP specimens revealed stage IA1 squamous cell cervical cancer in 4 (3.4%) cases, high-grade SIL in 75 (63%) cases, and low-grade SIL in 40 (33.6%) cases. The four patients with stage IA1 cervical cancer were not included in the further analyses. Disease recurred in none of the 50 patients with negative posttreatment HPV testing, in 4 (9.3%) of the 43 patients with positive posttreatment HPV testing and negative surgical margins, and in 8 (36.4%) of 22 patients with positive posttreatment HPV testing and positive margins. The combined evaluation of surgical margin status and posttreatment HPV testing could allow to subdivide patients treated with LEEP into categories at different risk of recurrence, requiring new tailored surveillance procedures.

Follow-up strategies in gynecological oncology: searching appropriateness

Nowadays, the cost for oncology diseases is growing rapidly, in particular as a consequence of the introduction of new drugs and new diagnostic procedures, and becoming a considerable percentage of the global healthcare expense. On the other hand, a substantial amount of that cost is considered to be imputable to the follow-up procedures. The aim of our paper is to introduce the debate about follow-up policies adopted in gynecological oncology throughout a literature review just based on cost-effectiveness and cost-efficacy in order to explore if the data are consistent with evidences available in this field. Furthermore, it is discussed if common practice fits the needs of patients, gynecological oncologists, and health service. Despite the fact that in gynecological oncology we must consider different clinical situations concerning each specific neoplasm with their peculiar natural history, some general considerations could be drawn in order to set up future initiatives properly

Could follow-up different modalities play a role in asymptomatic cervical cancer relapses diagnosis?

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate how much clinical surveillance performed by follow-up scheduled appointments may correctly identify asymptomatic recurrences and describe the pattern of relapse detected by procedures.

METHODS

The records of 327 consecutive women with recurrent cervical cancer treated from 1980 to 2005 were retrospectively collected in 8 Italian Institutions. Primary disease and recurrence data were picked up: diagnosis, type of treatment, FIGO stage, tumour grade, histology, clinical lesion size, number of localizations and site of relapse, presence of symptoms and primary method of detection, the type of treatment of recurrence and follow-up data, such as appointment date, clinical status and procedure performed. A multivariate analysis was carried out using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Survival curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier technique. Survival differences were evaluated by the log-rank test.

RESULTS

Sixty-seven out of 327 patients (20.5%) had a local recurrence on vaginal vault, 120 (36.7%) in central pelvis, 31 (9.5%) in pelvic wall, 16 cases (4.9%) in lymph nodes. Seventy-nine patients (24.2%) showed a distant relapse while 14 (4.3%) developed both a distant and local relapse. Among patients with distant relapses 39 (49.4%) had lung metastasis, 41 (51.9%) an hepatic recurrence, 4 (5.1%) a bone relapse. Among distant sites 32 out of 79 patients (40.5%) had single relapse and 46 (58.2%) had multiple localizations. The site of relapse influenced survival since patients with vaginal vault recurrences lived significantly longer than patients with recurrences in other sites. Ninety-seven (29.7%) patients were symptomatic and anticipated the scheduled visit, 66 (20.2%) reported their symptoms during the follow-up visit and 164 (50.1%) were asymptomatic and the diagnostic path was introduced by a planned visit or exam. Between asymptomatic patients the first procedure was clinical visit for 85 patients out of 164 patients (51.8%), imaging for 60 patients (36.6%), both clinical visit and imaging for 14 (8.5%) and cytology for 5 (3%, Pap smear test). The median OS of symptomatic patients was 37 months versus 109 months of asymptomatic patients (Log rank, p=0.00001). The median survival since recurrence was 9 months for symptomatic patients and median was not reached for asymptomatic patients (p<0.0001). The median disease-free interval was 24 months for asymptomatic patients vs. 36 months for symptomatic patients (p=0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study helps demonstrate the great need of prospective cost-effectiveness studies which are lacking at the present time.

Final results of After-6 protocol 1: A phase III trial of observation versus 6 courses of paclitaxel (Pac) in advanced ovarian cancer patients in complete response (CR) after platinum-paclitaxel chemotherapy (CT)

5505

Background: The majority of advanced ovarian cancer patients (pts) in CR after debulking surgery and Platinum/Paclitaxel will eventually relapse. Role of maintenance CT is still questionable even if a SWOG/GOG trial has shown an improved progression free survival (PFS) with 12 vs 3 cycles of maintenance Pac. In March 1999, the After 6 Italian Cooperative Group initiated a phase III study to determine if maintenance Pac could prolong PFS in pts with a clinical (cCR) or pathological CR (pCR) after first line CT Methods: Pts with advanced ovarian cancer in cCR or pCR after 6 cycles of Platinum/Paclitaxel, were randomised to observation or 6 cycles of Pac 175 mg/sqm iv q 3 wks. Primary end point: PFS; secondary end points: overall survival (OS) and toxicities. Planned sample size: 250 pts to detect a 15% absolute increase in 2-yr PFS. Results: From 03/99 to 07/06, 200 pts were randomised. Due to the low accrual rate, an unplanned interim analysis of futility according to the Bayesian approach was performed. Main patient characteristics: median age 58 yrs, median PS 0 (neurotoxicity ≥ G 2 was an exclusion criteria), stage IIb/IIc 15%, stage III 79%, stage IV 6%; 105 pts (52.5%) were in pCR. 14% of pts randomised to observation received Pac; 22% of pts randomised to Pac stopped treatment after 2–5 cycles (progression or death: 3 pts; toxicity: 9 pts; refusal: 7 pts; others: 3 pts). A G ≥ 2 neurotoxicity was reported in 25% of pts treated with Pac; other toxicities were mild. After a median follow up of 44 months, 94 pts (47%) have relapsed and 42 pts (21%) died. Median PFS were 34 and 34.5 months in observation and Pac arm respectively; 3-yr OS was 88% in observation and 78% in Pac arm. Irrespectively of treatment arm, median PFS was 34.4 months for pts with pCR and 24.5 months for those with cCR; 3-yr survival rates were 87% and 79% respectively (p=0.04). Conclusions: Six courses of maintenance Pac do not prolong PFS or OS in pts in CR after first line platinum/paclitaxel. Irrespectively of assigned treatment, the outcome of these pts is more favourable than previously reported and significantly better in the pCRs. Maintenance CT remains an experimental treatment that should be tested in pts at high risk of relapse.

[Table: see text]

Ovarian metastases in early-stage cervical cancer (IA2-IIA): a multicenter retrospective study of 1965 patients (a Cooperative Task Force study)

This is a retrospective study of patients treated for early-stage cervical cancer to identify pathologic risk factors associated with ovarian metastases and, therefore, to establish when ovarian preservation can be performed without increasing the risk of relapse in order to improve the quality of life in premenopausal patients. Between 1982 and 2004, 1965 patients with FIGO stage IA2-IB-IIA cervical squamous cell carcinoma and nonsquamous histology types were surgically treated; 1695 (86%) patients underwent primary radical hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic node dissection, the remaining 270 patients (14%) had their ovaries preserved. The clinical records were reviewed for all patients and clinical features at presentation, the histopathology and follow-up data were recorded. Overall, ovarian metastases were diagnosed in 16 of 1695 patients, for an incidence rate of 0.9%. Univariate analysis shows age (</=45 vs >45 years: P = 0.0079), FIGO stage (IB1-IIA </=4 cm vs IB2-IIA >4 cm: P = 0.0133), histology (squamous vs nonsquamous, P = 0.0014), noninvolved peripheral stromal thickness (<3 vs >3 mm: P = 0.0001), lymphvascular space involvement (present vs absent, P = 0.0007), lymph node status (positive vs negative, P = 0.00009) to be statistically associated with the presence of ovarian metastases. Multivariate analysis shows only age (P = 0.0119), FIGO stage (P = 0.011), histology (P = 0.001), and unaffected peripheral stromal thickness (<3 mm: P = 0.037) to be independent risk factors for ovarian metastases. Based on the present data and on the data available in the literature, ovarian preservation could be safely performed in young patients with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma (histology as the most significant risk factor), with macroscopically normal ovaries, and with preserved peripheral unaffected cervical stroma.

Surveillance procedures for patients treated for epithelial ovarian cancer: a review of the literature

Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer in the Western countries. Approximately 20%–30% of patients with early-stage disease and 50%–75% of those with advanced disease who obtain a complete response following first-line chemotherapy will ultimately develop recurrent disease, which more frequently involves the pelvis and abdomen. Few formal guidelines exist regarding the surveillance of these patients, and there is no agreement in the literature about the type and timing of examinations to perform. Moreover, the objective of follow-up is unclear as recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer continues to be a therapeutic dilemma and quite all the relapsed patients will eventually die of their disease. The follow-up of asymptomatic patients generally include complete clinical history, serum cancer antigen (CA)125 assay, physical examination, and often ultrasound examination, whereas additional radiologic imaging techniques are usually performed when symptoms or signs appear.18Fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose (18FDG)–positron emission tomography (PET) has a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 85% approximately for the detection of recurrent disease, and this examination appears to be particularly useful for the diagnosis of recurrence when CA125 levels are rising and conventional imaging is inconclusive or negative. Recently, technologic advances have led to novel combined18FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) devices, which perform contemporaneous acquisition of both18FDG-PET and CT images. The role of18FDG-PET/CT for the detection of recurrent ovarian cancer is very promising, and this technique may be especially useful for the selection of patients with late recurrent disease who may benefit from secondary cytoreductive surgery.

Combined treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in high-risk FIGO stage III–IV endometrial cancer patients

OBJECTIVES

We reviewed our series of very advanced FIGO stage III-IV endometrial cancer patients to assess the efficacy and toxicity of a platinum- and doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy followed by conventional radiotherapy.

METHODS

Forty-five patients with advanced FIGO stage III and IV endometrial cancer have been treated, after surgery, with four courses of chemotherapy containing cisplatin 50 mg/m(2), epidoxorubicin 60 mg/m(2) and cytoxan 600 mg/m(2) (day 1 every 21 days) in association with conventional external pelvic radiotherapy (50 Gy, with a 2 Gy daily dose administered with "box technique").

RESULTS

Chemotherapy was well tolerated: WHO grade 4 neutropenia, without fever or other symptoms, has been recorded in six patients (8.8%) at nadir, but no patient required hospitalization or colony-stimulating factors support during chemotherapy. Radiotherapy timing was not delayed by systemic treatment. Toxicities observed during radiation treatment are superimposable to those referred for not pretreated patients. At a median follow-up time of 63 months (range 4-112), 18 patients progressed and 16 patients have died: actuarial 9 years progression-free survival and survival are 30% and 53%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The addition of chemotherapy to radiotherapy seems to be an effective and safe way to treat this subset of endometrial cancer patients.

An analysis of different approaches to ovarian cysts in Italy

The management of pelvic masses represent a rising problem due to the need to obtain an early diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In order to evaluate the clinical and surgical approach to ovarian cysts in Italy, we sent a multiple choice questionnaire to 214 members of the Italian Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SIOG) and to 230 members of the Italian Society of Gynecologic Endoscopy (SEGi). Ninety-six resulted evaluable.

RESULTS

Transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound associated with CA125 determination represent the basis for the diagnosis, even if there is no univocal agreement on the ultrasound aspects that may define an ovarian cyst as doubtful. If an ovarian cyst, classified as suspicious, has been diagnosed in a postmenopausal woman, a wide range of therapeutic options have been reported: laparotomic hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy represent the treatment of choice for 49% of SIOG members, whereas laparoscopic bilateral (45%) or monolateral (39%) salpingo-oophorectomy represents the standard for SEGi members. Ultrasound criteria to distinguish among benign or probably malignant or doubtful ovarian cysts, the treatment of an ovarian cyst during pregnancy, and the management of an unexpected intraoperative diagnosis of borderline ovarian neoplasia are discussed on the basis of answers received by SIOG and SEGi members.

The role of the French–Italian glossary of complications in the outcome evaluation of cervical cancer treatment: an Italian multicentric study

The optimal treatment for cervical cancer is still a controversial matter: in the last two decades a lot of different modalities combining surgery, radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy (CHT) have been suggested and analysed in clinical trials. Nevertheless, analysis of treatment in cancer patients should be directed not only to survival, but also to the cost of complications and quality of life. In June 1988, a French-Italian co-operative group set up a glossary in which the complications of the treatment of cervical cancer are described and ranked. Nowadays, this is the only international system based upon an accurate description of symptoms and signs of complications following multidisciplinary treatment. The glossary was based on our previous experience in treating patients by surgery alone, RT or their combinations. Recently multimodality treatment includes also CHT. The aim of the present study was to verify whether the glossary is still a useful clinical instrument in outcome evaluation of cervical cancer treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The analysis has been done on a retrospective consecutive series of 579 patients affected by cervical cancer, treated in five Italian institutions. A minimum of 12 months follow up was required. All medical records of the patients enrolled, were examined by two independent reviewers in order to classify the complications according to the glossary.

RESULTS

Out of 579 patients 319 (55.1%) were free of complications and 260 (44.9%) experienced at least one complication. We found 436 complications. The distribution by Grade was: G1 58.9%, G2 27.5%, G3 13.5%. We had no fatal complication (G4). The glossary included all observed complications, except for pulmonary fibrosis.

CONCLUSION

The glossary is still a useful instrument in evaluating the outcome of cervical cancer treatment, whatever the therapy, and should be considered in quality of life assessment.

Phase III multicenter randomized trial of amifostine as cytoprotectant in first-line chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients

BACKGROUND

A phase III multicenter randomized trial has been designed in order to address whether amifostine (WR-2721, Ethyol), an organic thiophosphate cytoprotector, can protect ovarian cancer patients from toxicity induced by carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients were randomly assigned to receive carboplatin [area under the curve (AUC) 5 mg.min/ml] and paclitaxel (175 mg/m(2)) with (arm A) or without (arm B) amifostine (910 mg/m(2)) every 21 days for six cycles.

RESULTS

One-hundred and eighty-seven patients were accrued: 93 patients in arm A and 94 patients in arm B. There was no difference in terms of erythrocytopenia between the two arms; grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia was higher in arm A (3.3% versus 0.6%; P = 0.0010). There was no significant reduction of grade 3-4 leukopenia in arm A (11.8% versus 13.8%). The incidence of grade 3-4 neutropenia was lower in arm A (31.3% versus 37.9%; P = 0.03), as was the incidence of severe mucositis (4.7% versus 15.4% in arm A versus arm B, respectively; P <0.0001). Finally, amifostine appears to be protective against neurotoxicity (grade 3-4 neurotoxicity 3.7% versus 7.2%; P = 0.02). With a median follow-up of 24 months (range 2-41), time to progression was similar between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

We showed that amifostine can exert some protection from the cumulative toxicity associated with this regimen. The results need to be confirmed in other randomized trials with this combination.

Factors influencing survival in endometrial cancer relapsing patients: a Cooperation Task Force (CTF) study

The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of relapse and to determine the outcome of salvage treatment and the factors influencing survival of endometrial cancer relapsing patients. One thousand six hundred and six endometrial cancer (stages I to IV) patients treated at five Italian institutions were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 209 (13%) subjects had recurred; the site of relapse was vagina in 35 cases (16.7%), pelvis in 67 (32.1%), and distant locations in 107 (51.2%). Most of the patients relapsed within 24 months: 45% (94) recurred within 1 year, 20.6% (43) between 1 and 2 years. Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) seemed to reduce the percentage of pelvic recurrence in high risk early stages (IB-IIA) subjects and a higher proportion of patients failed at a distant site when postoperative external-beam pelvic RT was given. However survival curves were not statistically different in the two groups for stage IB endometrial cancer patients. Five and 10-year survival rates of patients with recurrent disease was 26% and 22%, respectively. Relapse of endometrial cancer is often early and at distant sites. Survival rate was related to site of relapse, disease-free interval, and postoperative treatment as independent prognostic variables. The site of relapse is the most important predictor of survival of patients with recurrent disease.

Factors influencing survival in endometrial cancer relapsing patients: a Cooperation Task Force (CTF) study

The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of relapse and to determine the outcome of salvage treatment and the factors influencing survival of endometrial cancer relapsing patients. One thousand six hundred and six endometrial cancer (stages I to IV) patients treated at five Italian institutions were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 209 (13%) subjects had recurred; the site of relapse was vagina in 35 cases (16.7%), pelvis in 67 (32.1%), and distant locations in 107 (51.2%). Most of the patients relapsed within 24 months: 45% (94) recurred within 1 year, 20.6% (43) between 1 and 2 years. Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) seemed to reduce the percentage of pelvic recurrence in high risk early stages (IB-IIA) subjects and a higher proportion of patients failed at a distant site when postoperative external-beam pelvic RT was given. However survival curves were not statistically different in the two groups for stage IB endometrial cancer patients. Five and 10-year survival rates of patients with recurrent disease was 26% and 22%, respectively. Relapse of endometrial cancer is often early and at distant sites. Survival rate was related to site of relapse, disease-free interval, and postoperative treatment as independent prognostic variables. The site of relapse is the most important predictor of survival of patients with recurrent disease.

First-line chemotherapy with epidoxorubicin, paclitaxel, and carboplatin for the treatment of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

A combination of carboplatin (CBDCA) and paclitaxel (TAX) is the standard treatment in advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) patients. Epidoxorubicin (EDX) is an active treatment in AOC and exhibits nonoverlapping toxicities with CBDCA and TAX; moreover, when added to platinum-based chemotherapy, it improves long-term survival. We have therefore conducted a phase II study to evaluate the tolerability and antitumor activity of an EDX/TAX/CBDCA (ETC) triplet in AOC patients.

METHODS

Patients with histologically confirmed suboptimal stage III-IV ovarian cancer who had not previously received cytotoxic drugs were treated with TAX (175 mg/m(2) in a 3-h iv infusion), CBDCA (AUC 6, Calvert formula), and EDX (75 mg/m(2) iv bolus) all given on day 1 every 28 days for a maximum of six courses on an outpatient basis. EDX dosage was chosen after a pilot phase I study.

RESULTS

Fifty-five patients were registered, of whom 5 were determined ineligible bacause of age. Forty-two of the 50 are evaluable for response; 27 (64%) achieved a clinical complete response (CR) and 9 (21%) a partial response (PR) for a response rate of 86% (95% CI 71-94%). Thirty-three patients underwent a secondary debulking procedure after a median of 6 courses (range 2-6). Pathological CR and PR were observed in 9 (27.3%) and 21 (63.6%), respectively; among patients with persistent disease a successful cytoreduction (<1 cm) was obtained in 53.8% of patients. At a median follow up of 35.6 months (range 0-55.5) median progression-free survival is 19.5 months and median overall survival is 36 months. The most common adverse effects were G3-4 leukopenia and thrombocytopenia which occurred in 59 and 37% of patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The ETC combination given according to the outlined doses and schedule is highly active in AOC patients with poor prognostic factors and deserves further study.

Molecular mechanisms of apoptosis and chemosensitivity to platinum and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer: biological data and clinical implications

Apoptosis is a genetically regulated biological process that plays a major role in chemotherapy-induced tumor cell killing. It may be triggered by two major intracellular signaling cascades, the mitochondrial pathway and the death receptor pathway, both leading to caspase activation and cleavage of specific cellular substrates. The p53 gene is involved in the regulation of apoptosis. Caspase activation following wild-type p53 induction is associated with the release of the apoptogenic factors cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO from the mitochondria, that is in turn controlled by the pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins. In ovarian cancer p53 status is a strong predictor of response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients whose tumors have p53 mutations experience a lower chance of achieving a complete response following platinum-based regimens when compared to patients without p53 mutations. Conversely, experimental and clinical data seem to show that paclitaxel enhances apoptosis through a p53-independent pathway, that probably involves the Bax gene. Whereas patients with wild-type p53 tumors have a good chance to respond to platinum, patients with mutant p53 tumors may have a clinical benefit from the addition of paclitaxel to platinum-based chemotherapy. Therefore determining p53 status can be useful in predicting therapeutic response to specific drugs. Moreover the understanding of cellular mechanisms regulating apoptosis might offer a strong rationale for the combination of chemotherapy with other biological treatments.

The prognostic relevance of histological type in uterine sarcomas: a Cooperation Task Force (CTF) multivariate analysis of 249 cases

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION

The objective of this retrospective multicenter study was to assess the prognostic relevance of histologic type in uterine sarcomas.

METHODS

The hospital reports of 249 patients with uterine sarcomas were reviewed. Surgery was the initial therapy for all patients. Histologic type was leiomyosarcoma in 95 cases, low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) in 19, high-grade ESS in 34, and carcinosarcoma in 101. Postoperative treatment was given without well-defined protocols. Median follow-up of survivors was 97 months.

RESULTS

In the whole series 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year survival rates were 53.5%, 41.6%, and 35.8%, respectively, and median survival was 31 months. At univariate analysis survival was significantly related to stage (p = 0.0001), mitotic count (p = 0.0001), and histologic type (low-grade ESS vs leiomyosarcoma vs carcinosarcoma vs high-grade ESS, median: not reached vs 27 months vs 21 months vs 16.5 months, p = 0.0011), but not to postoperative therapy and patient age. The Cox model revealed that tumor stage, mitotic count and histologic type were independent prognostic variables for survival. In detail, the risk of death was significantly lower for low-grade ESS (risk ratio [RR] = 0.257; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.071-0.931) and carcinosarcoma (RR = 0.509; 955 CI = 0.324-0.799) when compared to leiomyosarcoma. Conversely, no significant difference in survival was found between leiomyosarcoma and high-grade ESS.

CONCLUSIONS

Histologic type is an independent prognostic variable for survival in uterine sarcomas. Low-grade ESS has the best clinical outcome, whereas leiomyosarcoma has the poorest one. It is noteworthy that, when adjusting for stage and mitotic count, leiomyosarcoma has a significantly worse prognosis than carcinosarcoma.

Is pretreatment hemoglobin level a predictor of complete response to salvage chemotherapy for recurrent platinum-pretreated ovarian carcinoma?

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION

The aim of this retrospective study was to correlate some patient characteristics at relapse, including also baseline hemoglobin levels, with complete response rate and survival following second-line chemotherapy for recurrent platinum-pretreated ovarian carcinoma.

METHODS

The investigation was conducted on 63 patients who received salvage chemotherapy with different agents for clinically detectable recurrent ovarian carcinoma following initial surgery and first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Some patient characteristics at relapse (patient age, serum CA 125 level, baseline hemoglobin level, number of recurrence sites, ascites, platinum-free interval, and treatment-free interval) were related to complete response rate to salvage chemotherapy and survival after recurrence. Median baseline hemoglobin level was 11.6 g/dl (range, 7.5-15.0 g/dl).

RESULTS

Second-line chemotherapy obtained a complete response in 17 (27.0%) patients and a partial response in 11 (17.5%), whereas stable disease and progressive disease were detected in 19 (30.1%) and 16 (25.4%) patients, respectively. By univariate analysis, complete response rate was related to baseline hemoglobin level (p = 0.0019), platinum-free interval (p = 0.0012) and treatment-free interval (p = 0.0048). Multiple logistic regression showed that platinum-free interval (p = 0.0107) and baseline hemoglobin level (0.0312) were independent predictors of complete response. Patients with baseline hemoglobin levels >11.6 g/dl had a 5.338 higher chance of obtaining a complete response when compared to those with lower hemoglobin values. The platinum-free interval was the only independent prognostic variable for survival after recurrence (p = 0.0141), whereas baseline hemoglobin level was not related to survival at univariate nor at multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Baseline hemoglobin level is an independent predictor of complete response to salvage chemotherapy in patients with recurrent platinum-pretreated ovarian carcinoma. Attention must be paid to anemia correction in these patients, with the aim of improving both the chance of response to salvage treatment and the quality of life.

The clinical outcome of patients with stage Ia1 and Ia2 squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix: a Cooperation Task Force (CTF) study

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION

The objective of this retrospective multicenter study was to assess the clinical outcome of patients with microinvasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

METHODS

The hospital records of 166 patients with microinvasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix were reviewed. All cases were retrospectively staged according the 1994 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) nomenclature. One hundred and forty-three cases were in Stage Ia1 and 23 in Stage Ia2 disease. Surgery consisted of conization alone in 30 (18.1%) patients, total hysterectomy in 82 (49.4%), and radical hysterectomy in 54 (32.5%). All patients in whom conization was the definite treatment had Stage Ia1 disease and had cone margins negative for intraepithelial or invasive lesions.

RESULTS

None of the 67 patients submitted to pelvic lymphadenectomy had histologically proven metastatic lymph nodes. Of the 166 patients, eight (4.8%) had an intraepithelial recurrence and four (2.4%) had an invasive recurrence. With regard to FIGO substage, disease recurred in nine (6.3%) out of 143 patients with Stage Ia1 and three (13.0%) out of 23 with Stage Ia2 cervical cancer. With regard to type of surgery, disease recurred in three (10.0%) out of the patients treated with conization alone, four (4.9%) out those who underwent total hysterectomy, and five (9.3%) out of those who underwent radical hysterectomy. It is worth noting that none of the 30 patients treated with conization alone had recurrent invasive cancer after a median follow-up of 45 months. However three (10%) of these patients developed a cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) III after 16, 33, and 94 months, respectively, from conization.

CONCLUSIONS

Conization can represent the definite treatment for patients with Stage Ia1 squamous cell cervical cancer, if cone margins and apex are disease-free. For patients with Stage Ia2 cervical cancer extrafascial hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy might be an adequate standard therapy, although the need for lymph node dissection is questionable.

Adjuvant chemotherapy in early stage uterine sarcomas: an open question

Uterine sarcomas are aggressive gynecological cancers even at early stage of disease. The most common histological types are represented by leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma, and carcinosarcoma. The mainstay of treatment of stage I-II disease is total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Adjuvant radiotherapy may decrease local recurrence rates without any significant impact on survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy is a logical approach, since distant recurrences are more frequent than local failures. The chemotherapy regimens commonly used in advanced uterine sarcomas are similar to the ones for advanced soft tissue sarcomas, with anthracyclines and ifosfamide as the most active drugs. However, carcinosarcomas respond better to cisplatin-based regimens. It is advisable to design international cooperative randomized trials with the aim of defining the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of early stage uterine sarcomas.

Clinical behavior of 203 stage II endometrial cancer cases: the impact of primary surgical approach and of adjuvant radiation therapy

The aim of this study was to verify the impact of primary surgical approach and adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) on survival, recurrence rate, and pattern of relapse in stage II endometrial cancer patients. Two hundred three subjects were retrospectively reviewed; 135 (66%) underwent simple hysterectomy (SH) and 68 (34%) radical hysterectomy (RH). Sixty-six of 111 (59%) of stage IIA and 67 of 92 (73%) of stage IIB patients underwent adjuvant radiation therapy. Actuarial survival rates for stage IIA and IIB were 86% and 74% at 5 years and 82% and 68% at 10 years, respectively. Survival rates by surgical procedure were 79% in the SH group and 94% in the RH group at 5 years and 74% and 94% at 10 years, respectively (P < 0.05). The overall recurrence rate was 13.8% (28/203); by adjuvant treatment it was 18.6% (13/70) in the observation group and 11.3% (15/133) in the RT group. Most of the relapses were locoregional in the observation group and distant in the RT group. Survival rates by RT were not statistically different. Subjects treated with RH improved their survival compared with the SH group; the difference was significant, but randomized studies should confirm this trend. Although adjuvant RT seemed to reduce the recurrence rate, there was no significant difference in survival, and so the role of RT still needs further verification.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and concurrent chemoradiation in the treatment of advanced cervical cancer

The role of chemotherapy in the management of advanced cervical cancer has been long debated. Whereas some phase II trials have shown promising results with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by irradiation, most phase III trials failed to demonstrate any benefit with this sequential treatment in terms of loco-regional control and survival, mainly because chemotherapy could cause accelerated tumor clonogen resistant cell repopulation The data on cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery appear to be more promising. This treatment modality can increase the operability rate and reduce the incidence of positive nodes and other pathological risk factors. However, very few randomized trials comparing cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy versus conventional irradiation treatment are currently available, whilst data about long-term survival of chemo-surgical-treated patients are scanty. Recently five prospective randomized trials compared concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy and irradiation versus hydroxyurea plus irradiation or irradiation alone. All showed a significant improvement in the outcome of patients treated with concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiation. Based on these data, the National Cancer Institute released a Clinical Announcement stating that concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiation should be the new standard of therapy for high-risk early stage and locally advanced cervical cancer. The introduction of taxanes in both neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy and concurrent chemoradiation could further improve the results of these two treatment modalities. A multicenter randomized trial comparing chemo-surgical treatment with concurrent chemoradiation is warranted to better define the optimum therapeutic strategy for patients with advanced cervical cancer.

Treatment options in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer

The majority of patients with advanced ovarian cancer need a second-line treatment for recurrent disease after surgical cytoreduction and first-line chemotherapy. In these patients, treatment planning is mainly dependent on the platinum-free-interval. The patients may be distinguished as platinum-refractory (progression under platinum-based therapy), platinum-resistant (relapse within 6 months), or platinum-sensitive (relapse after 6 months). Patients with platinum-refractory or -resistant disease should be encouraged to enter clinical trials. Alternatively, these patients could receive tamoxifen or a non-platinum single-agent therapy. Since response rate and duration to different single-agents are similar, patient convenience, toxicities from prior treatment, side-effects and costs play a role in the drug selection for salvage chemotherapy. Patients with platinum-sensitive disease should receive carboplatin based or carboplatin-plus paclitaxel-based regimens. Secondary surgical cytoreduction may have a role in highly selected patients with good performance status, with long disease-free interval and without extra-abdominal or liver metastases.

Controversial issues in climacteric medicine II. Hormone replacement therapy and cancer. International Menopause Society Expert Workshop. 9-12 June 2001, Opera del Duomo, Pisa, Italy

Sex steroids are not known to damage DNA directly. They can stimulate or inhibit cell proliferation, and thus can modulate tumor developmental progression. Sex steroid-related tumors in women are represented by breast cancer and endometrial cancer, and a possible relationship exists between sex steroids and both ovarian and colon cancer. Among current ERT users or those who stopped use 1-4 years previously, the relative risk of having breast cancer diagnosed increases by a factor of 1.023 for each year of hormone use. This increase is comparable with the effect on breast cancer of delaying menopause, and seems to be largely limited to lean women. The breast cancers diagnosed during ERT are more likely to contain ER and are less aggressive. Some reports indicate no increase in breast cancer mortality in HRT users. Recent data suggest that an estrogen-progestin regimen may increase breast cancer risk beyond that associated with estrogen alone. However, the effect of progestogens on the breast awaits further clarification. ERT/HRT is generally considered to be contraindicated in breast cancer patients, as no firm data are yet available from randomized clinical trials. Despite the potential risks, ERT/HRT could be considered for breast cancer patients suffering from menopausal symptoms resistant to alternative treatments, after completely informed consent is given, particularly in women with ER--(hormone-resistant) cancers. Unopposed estrogen therapy is known to increase endometrial cancer risk, and is appropriate only for hysterectomized women. To negate the excess risk of endometrial hyperstimulation, an adequate progestin dose must be given in a continuous combined regimen or for an appropriate number of days in sequential regimens (10 days or more for some progestogens or 12 days or more for other progestogens). An appropriate combination of estrogen and progestin does not appear to increase, and may even decrease, the risk of endometrial cancer. HRT is generally considered to be contraindicated in endometrial cancer patients. Despite the potential risks, HRT could be considered for patients suffering from menopausal symptoms resistant to alternative treatments, after completely informed consent is given. Available data suggest a reduced risk of colorectal adenoma and colon cancer in current users of HRT, but definitive studies are still needed. There is no contraindication to HRT prescription in colon cancer survivors. Consistent epidemiological data describe a decreased incidence of ovarian cancer with oral contraceptive use during the reproductive years. Studies on HRT and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer have produced conflicting results but most data seem to exclude a strong association. While no data contraindicate HRT use in epithelial ovarian cancer survivors, current studies do not allow us to exclude the possibility that estrogens alone could stimulate ovarian cancer growth in a small fraction of patients. Additional studies are required. It is important to consider that not all estrogens and progestins are used with the same dosage, route of administration (oral, transdermal and for estradiol intranasal) and, mostly, different estrogens do not show the same bioavailability and tissue effects. The available data do not allow to discriminate for all these variables and therefore it is inappropriate to consider jointly all forms of hormonal therapy. This issue is considered as an important area for future evaluation and research. The International Menopause Society is in the process of drawing up specific recommendations for further research in the field of HRT and cancer.