Infected ectopic pregnancy presenting as unilateral tubo-ovarian abscess

Ectopic pregnancy may be a dramatic occurrence, such as in the acutely ruptured extrauterine entity, or diagnosis may be delayed in the chronic ectopic gestation. Eight cases of infected ectopic pregnancy simulating tubo-ovarian abscess are reported; the diagnosis may be difficult and misleading. Symptoms and signs include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding following a period of amenorrhea, usually accompanied by fever. All patients in our series presented with a picture of tubo-ovarian or pelvic abscess; however, the diagnosis of infected ectopic pregnancy was made preoperatively in all due to a positive beta-hCG test. Surgery in our cases included unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in 7, and salpingectomy in one. Attention was drawn to the fact that, in the case of unilateral tubo-ovarian abscess, infected ectopic pregnancy should be suspected whenever preoperative beta-hCG is positive.     

Fallopian tube carcinoma: an under-recognized primary neoplasm

It has been suggested that primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube may be more common than has previously been recorded. To investigate this possibility further a clinico-pathological study was undertaken at The Northern General Hospital, Sheffield. All cases undergoing primary surgical treatment for ovarian cancer at this regional Gynaecological Oncology unit were reviewed by one pathologist. Between January 1994 and October 1995, 36 new cases of epithelial ovarian cancer were diagnosed at laparotomy. During this time period three women, all of whom lived in the local catchment area, had a diagnosis of primary fallopian tube carcinoma established by accepted pathologic criteria. One case was an incidental finding at the time of hysterectomy for benign disease. Another presented as cervical lymphadenopathy, which contained metastatic papillary serous carcinoma, subsequently demonstrated at operation to be of tubal origin. Over a 22 month period the ratio of primary tubal to ovarian carcinoma in our surgical population was 10 times that predicted by national incidence figures. The manner of presentation of two of the cases of tubal carcinoma raises the possibility that in other circumstances they may not have been recorded as such. If primary tubal carcinoma is under-reported, there may be implications to the nature of the procedure performed as surgical prophylaxis against ovarian cancer.     

Survival of patients with primary fallopian tube carcinoma

Vaughan MM, Evans BD, Weitzer MJ. Survival of patients with primary fallopian tube carcinoma. Int J Gynecol Cancer 1998; 8: 16–22.
Thirty-seven patients with primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) presenting between 1952 and 1995 were studied. The mean age was 57 years. Seven patients had stage I disease, 20 stage II, 8 stage III, and 2 stage IV. Actuarial 5-year survivals were 73% for stage I, 33% for stage II and 0% for stage III. Stage was a significant predictor of survival at 5 years (Stage I vs. III, P = 0.0006; stage II vs. III, P = 0.0001), however, the majority of patients, even with early stage disease, died of progressive PFTC within 10 years. Grade appeared highly significant at 5 and 10 years (Grades 1 & 2 vs. 3, P = 0. 0023). Neither age nor lymphocytic infiltrate appeared definitely predictive of survival. Eleven of 22 stage II patients received adjuvant treatment. While their median and 5-year survivals were superior to those not receiving adjuvant treatment (51 vs. 30 months, 47% vs. 22%), the difference was not statistically significant.
This retrospective analysis confirms the poor prognosis of patients with PFTC. The majority of patients, even with early stage tumors, eventually succumb to their disease. Larger studies may identify a group of patients potentially curable with surgery alone, and clarify the role of adjuvant therapy.     

Nocardial tubo-ovarian abscess in a pregnant woman: a rare case report

Nocardiosis is a rare disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. We report on a 32-year-old pregnant woman with nocardiosis, which may be the third reported case in which no risk factor for the infection (other than the pregnancy itself) could be found. Pregnancy was complicated by the formation of a tubo-ovarian nocardia abscess, resulting in abortion. Lapartomy with trimethopprim-sulfamethoxazole led to complete cure of the patient at the end of the fifth month. This case emphasizes the difficulty in the diagnosis and treatment of a nocardial infection during pregnancy.     

Fallopian tube malignancies: experience of Social Security Agency Aegean Maternity Hospital

The aim of the study was to determine the clinical characteristics and management of fallopian tube malignancies together with the results there unto that had been diagnosed and treated in our oncology department retrospectively. Twelve cases of fallopian tube malignancies, of a total of 2155 gynecologic malignancies (0.55%), that had been diagnosed in or referred to our hospital between January 1986 and December 2001 were evaluated retrospectively. Eight of 12 cases were diagnosed after surgical intervention in our department. Staging laparotomies were applied to all of the eight cases. Complementary surgeries of other four cases who were referred to our department were done according to the same principles of cytoreductive surgery. Staging of the cases was done according to Federation of International Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO). Adjuvant chemotherapy was applied to all of the cases except two (10 cases, 83.3%). Second-look laparotomy (SLL) was applied to two of the cases. Mean age of the cases was 54.2 (range 35-72) years. Histopathology of the cases was as follows: serous adenocarcinoma in 10 cases (83.3%), endometrioid adenocarcinoma in one case (8.3%), and undifferentiated carcinoma in one case (8.3%). Adjuvant chemotherapy (PAC regimen to eight of the cases and PP regimen to two cases) was applied to 10 of the cases (83.3%). SLL was applied to two cases. Another case had died because of local recurrence at the 27th month of the follow-up. Mean follow-up period of the cases was 37.8 months (range 1-144 months). Fallopian tube malignancies are very rare malignancies. Diagnosis can be made generally peri- or postoperatively. More extensive clinical research must be performed in order to have definite etiologic, diagnostic, management modalities, and prognostic markers.     

Lymph node involvement in primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube

Although the bad prognosis of primary fallopian tube carcinoma has been mostly ascribed to early lymphogenous dissemination, precise information regarding the characteristics of retroperitoneal spread are still missing. Our study was designed to evaluate the incidence and clinical significance of lymph node metastases in 33 patients with primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube. During primary surgery nine patients (27%) were submitted to systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, whereas 24 received lymph node sampling. The clinicopathologic characteristics of the patients (intraperitoneal spread, grading, peritoneal cytology, depth of tubal infiltration and residual disease after primary surgery) were compared with lymphnodal status.
Overall 15 patients (45%) had positive nodes, that is, invaded by tumor; whereas 18 (55%) showed no lymphatic spread. Six patients (40%) had exclusively positive para-aortic lymph nodes; five (33%) had only tumor metastases in pelvic lymph nodes, three (20%) manifested simultaneously pelvic and para-aortic spread, and one patient with pure primary squamous cell carcinoma had a massive groin node metastasis as presenting sign of the tumor. The rate of lymphogenous metastases was not significantly related to progressive intra-abdominal dissemination, histologic grade or depth of tubal infiltration. On the other hand, the presence of residual disease after primary surgery and positive peritoneal cytology significantly increased the risk of nodal metastases. Patients with lymph node metastasis had a significantly ( P = 0.02) worse prognosis compared with patients without nodal involvement (median survival 39 vs 58 months).
Considering the high incidence of lymph node metastasis, correct staging of tubal carcinoma should include a thorough surgical evaluation of both pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes. The role of systematic lymph node dissection in the treatment of tubal carcinoma remains controversial.     

Outcomes for patients with fallopian tube carcinoma managed with adjuvant chemotherapy following primary surgery: a retrospective university experience

The aim is to evaluate disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with fallopian tube carcinoma (FTCA) treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. An Institutional Review Board approved retrospective review identified 38 patients with FTCA that received adjuvant chemotherapy following primary surgery from 1975 to 2001. Median age was 56 (range 36-78) and 95% of patients were white. Twenty patients (53%) had FIGO stage III/IV FTCA. Seventeen patients underwent second-look laparotomy, 8 (47%) patients were found to have disease. Adjuvant chemotherapeutic regimens consisted of melphalan in 11 patients, platinum-based chemotherapy without paclitaxel in 17 patients, and the combination of paclitaxel and platinum in 10 patients. Although DFS was similar for the three chemotherapy cohorts (P= 0.19), patients receiving paclitaxel had superior OS compared to patients receiving either melphalan (P= 0.02) or platinum without paclitaxel (P= 0.04). Of the twenty patients with stage III/IV disease, 55% of patients had optimal cytoreduction performed at their initial surgery. Both median DFS, 68 versus 50 months (P= 0.14) and OS, 73 versus 50 months (P= 0.12) were greater in patients with optimal cytoreduction. When compared to historical chemotherapeutic regimens, the combination of paclitaxel and platinum has superior efficacy for the management of patients with FTCA. Although not statistically significant in our study, optimal cytoreduction likely improves both DFS and OS and should be the goal of all patients surgically managed for FTCA.     

Carcinoma of the fallopian tube: a clinicopathological study of 105 cases with observations on staging and prognostic factors

One hundred five cases of carcinoma of the fallopian tube were subjected to a clinicopathological study to investigate the validity of various prognostic factors. A higher stage of tumor, an absence of closure of the fimbriated end of the tube, and an age of 66 years or older were the major predictors of a shorter length of recurrence-free postoperative survival in a univariate analysis. In a multivariate analysis, however, stage was a highly significant prognostic factor, absence of fimbriated-end closure, marginally significant, and older age, not significant. Within Stage I cases the presence or absence of invasion of the tubal wall, the depth of invasion when present, and the location of the tumor within the tube (fimbrial or nonfimbrial) appeared to be prognostically important. These findings strongly suggest that the FIGO staging system should be expanded to permit staging of noninvasive tubal carcinomas and fimbrial carcinomas, which cannot be staged according to the current system, and that depth of invasion of the tubal wall merits future investigation as an additional prognostic factor.     

Late recurrence of Fallopian tube carcinoma in an incisional hernia

A 53 year old woman who had surgery for carcinoma of the Fallopian tube had an operation for an incisional hernia 15 years later. Histology of resected tissues revealed metastatic Fallopian tube carcinoma.     

Primary fallopian tube cancer: Domestic data and up-to-date review

Primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) is a rare gynecological malignancy with the following characteristics: its preoperative diagnosis is easy to miss or delay because of a lack of specific symptoms and signs; it is difficult to distinguish from serous epithelial ovarian cancer or primary peritoneal serous carcinoma during or even after operation because they have the same histopathological features; and there is uncertainty regarding the optimal management because of the lack of available standard guidelines. All of these factors contribute to the major challenge of undertaking a comprehensive study of this disease. To improve our understanding of this rare disease, the domestic data were summarized first. We searched PubMed on this topic, using the term “primary fallopian tube tumor and Taiwan” (from January 1, 1990 to November 3, 2013) and identified 15 published articles, but only 11 studies focused on the outcome of patients with PFTC in Taiwan. These limited data were not enough to increase our knowledge in dealing with this disease; therefore, the addition of large series or published review articles addressing this topic was needed. According to these reports, we concluded: (1) the main type of PFTC was serous type, often poorly differentiated; (2) the diagnosis of PFTC is frequently missed or delayed; (3) PFTC is often of an earlier International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage than is epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), because of the appearance of earlier but nonspecific symptoms or signs, such as abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, and watery discharge or mass; (4) the most important clinicopathological prognostic factor was FIGO stage; (5) the therapeutic strategy is still uncertain, but is often based on the guidelines for treating EOC. An intensive surgical effort such as a complete surgical resection or optimal cytoreduction surgery with a minimal residual tumor followed by a platinum-paclitaxel combination chemotherapy with/without targeted therapy (for example, antiangiogenesis agents) may provide the best possibility of disease-free or overall survival.     

Primary adenocarcinoma of the fallopian tube. Review of the literature

An extensive review of the currently available literature on primary fallopian tube carcinoma is presented. The role of vaginal ultrasonography and the importance of an aggressive evaluation of every tubal deformity is stressed. A staging system which takes into account recent data on the biology of this malignancy is proposed. We emphasize the largely underestimated importance of early lymphatic spread of this disease, necessitating a thorough staging laparotomy with pelvic and para-aortic lymph node sampling in the apparent early stages. The need for adjuvant treatment is obvious, but until now no firm data exist as to what the optimal strategy should be. We recommend that until more representative studies are available, ovarian carcinoma protocols should be used in clinical practice.     

Primary fallopian tube carcinoma: the Queensland experience

Abstract. Obermair A, Taylor KH, Janda M, Nicklin JL, Crandon AJ, Perrin L. Primary fallopian tube carcinoma: the Queensland experience.
The pupose of this study was to review the experience with fallopian tube carcinoma in Queensland and to compare it with previously published data. Thirty-six patients with primary fallopian tube carcinoma treated at the Queensland Gynaecological Cancer Center from 1988 to 1999 were reviewed in a retrospective clinicopathologic study. All patients had primary surgery and 31/36 received chemotherapy postoperatively. Abnormal vaginal bleeding (15/36) and abdominal pain (14/36) were the most common presenting symptoms at the time of diagnosis. Median follow-up was 70.3 months and the median overall survival was 68.1 months. Surgical stage I disease ( P = 0.02) and the absence of residual tumor after operation ( P = 0.03) were the only factors associated with improved survival. Twenty of the 36 patients (55%) presented with stage I disease and survival was 62.7% at 5 years. No patient with postoperative residual tumor survived.
The majority of the patients with fallopian tube carcinoma present with stage I disease at diagnosis, but their survival probability is low compared with that of other early stage gynecological malignancies. If primary surgical debulking cannot achieve macroscopic tumor clearence, the chance of survival is extremely low.     

Correlation of plasma osteopontin and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels with the severity and clinical outcome of pelvic inflammatory disease

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation of two important inflammatory biomarkers, plasma osteopontin and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), with the severity and outcome of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).Materials and methodsSixty-one patients with PID, including 25 patients with tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA), were consecutively recruited. Their blood samples were tested for the concentrations of plasma osteopontin and NGAL using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The associations of these biomarkers with TOA, length of hospitalization, and incidence of surgery were also analyzed.ResultsPlasma osteopontin level was significantly increased in PID patients with TOA compared to PID patients without TOA (median 107.77 ng/mL vs. 72.39 ng/mL, p = 0.004). However, there was no significant difference for plasma NGAL. If the cutoff level of plasma osteopontin was set at 81.1 ng/mL, there was a 76.0% sensitivity and a 24.0% false negative rate in predicting TOA in PID patients. Plasma osteopontin significantly correlated with length of hospital stay (r = 0.467, p < 0.001), and this correlation was better than that of NGAL. However, neither biomarker was associated with incidence of surgery.ConclusionPlasma osteopontin has a better correlation with TOA and length of hospitalization compared to NGAL. If plasma osteopontin level falls below 81.1 ng/mL, PID patients will have about a 20% chance of developing TOA. Incorporating plasma osteopontin, but not NGAL, will allow for an adjuvant diagnostic biomarker for TOA and predictor of length of hospital stay.     

原发性输卵管癌45例临床分析

目的:探讨原发性输卵管癌的临床表现及病理特征、诊治方法,以期提高对该病的认识.方法:回顾性分析我院2000～2010年收治的45例原发性输卵管癌患者的临床情况及诊治结果.结果:45例患者平均年龄56.9岁,30例(66.7％)为绝经后妇女.最常见的临床表现依次为盆腔肿块40例(88.9％),阴道排液13例(28.9％),腹胀10例(22.2％),腹痛9例(20.0％),异常阴道流血伴流液7例(15.6％),便秘2例(4.4％).超声检查发现40例(88.9％)有盆腔肿块;32例行血清癌抗原125( CA125)水平测定,26例(81.3％)高于35 U/ml.Ⅰ～Ⅳ期患者的5年生存比例分别为:Ⅰ期66.7％、Ⅱ期50.0％、Ⅲ期36.0％,Ⅳ期0.满意的肿瘤细胞减灭术患者较缩瘤术患者存活时间长.结论:原发性输卵管癌恶性程度高,临床表现多样且缺乏特异性,很少能在术前明确诊断.超声检查及CA125检测有助于诊断.手术是主要治疗手段.     

Surgical Intervention in Patients with Tubo-Ovarian Abscess: Clinical Predictors and a Simple Risk Score

Study Objective

To identify the clinical characteristics associated with surgical intervention in patients with tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA).