The reproducibility of a binary tumor grading system for uterine endometrial endometrioid carcinoma, compared with FIGO system and nuclear grading

OBJECTIVE: A binary grading system has been proposed to assess the amount of solid growth, the pattern of invasion, and the presence of necrosis, and thereby divide endometrial endometrioid carcinomas into low- and high-grade tumors. We analyzed this system for predicting the prognosis, with respect to inter- and intraobserver reproducibility and treatment modalities. METHODS: A total of 200 endometrial carcinomas, based on hysterectomy specimens, were graded according to the binary grading system, for comparison against The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system and nuclear grading. RESULTS: Both inter- and intraobserver agreement using the binary grading system (kappa = 0.57; percent agreement: 82% and kappa = 0.62; 84%) were superior compared with the FIGO system (0.50; 60% and 0.62; 73%) and the nuclear grading (0.23; 49% and 0.43; 65%). Patients with early-stage low-grade tumors had a 98% rate for 5-year survival (5YS). Patients with early-stage high-grade tumors, and those with advanced-stage low-grade tumors, had respectively 86% to 87% rates for 5YS. But patients with advanced-stage high-grade tumors had a 49% rate for 5YS. In binary low-grade early-stage tumors, the patient outcome was better with no adjuvant therapy and chemotherapy, compared with other therapies. CONCLUSION: A binary grading system was superior to others in permitting greater reproducibility and predicting the prognosis of endometrial cancer patients.     

The grading of lymphovascular space invasion in endometrial carcinoma

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to elucidate the prognostic significance of a three-grade system for lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI). METHODS: The prognostic significance of the grading of LVSI as compared with other pathologic variables was evaluated in a study of 303 Japanese women with endometrial carcinoma. The criteria for determining the grade of LVSI were as follows: none (no LVSI), mild (a focus of LVSI was recognized around a tumor), and severe (diffuse or multifocal LVSI were recognized around the tumor or in the myometrium regardless of the degree of myometrial invasion). Both univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. The effects of different surgical methods and adjuvant therapies on survival were also examined. RESULTS: A univariate survival analysis showed that survival significantly correlated with surgical stage, histologic grade, depth of myometrial invasion, LVSI, cervical invasion, ovarian metastasis, and tubal metastasis. Of the three grades of LVSI, survival showed the most difference between the mild and severe groups. In multivariate analysis, the highest correlation with survival was observed for LVSI (P = 0.0008). Lymph node metastasis was also significantly associated with LVSI (P = 0. 0001). The correlation between histologic variables and survival was only slightly influenced by the differences in surgical methods and adjuvant therapies. CONCLUSIONS: The grading of LVSI was found to be an important histologic prognostic variable. The severe degree of LVSI also was found to be a good indicator of lymph node metastasis. It is therefore important to evaluate the grade of LVSI based on a histologic examination of at least one cut surface of the hysterectomy specimen that macroscopically shows the deepest myometrial invasion.     

Predicting pulmonary adenocarcinoma outcome based on a cytology grading system

BACKGROUND:

Pulmonary adenocarcinoma (AD) has a variety of architectural patterns. Recently, a 3‐tiered histological pattern‐based grading system was developed for stage I lung AD, stratifying patients into low, intermediate, and high risk for recurrence. However, cytology may serve as the primary method for diagnosis in patients with inoperable disease. Attempts to correlate architecture between parallel cytological and histological preparations have not been successful. Therefore, we evaluated cytomorphologic features of previously histologically graded AD to identify features of potential prognostic significance.

METHODS:

One hundred and thirteen fine‐needle aspirations with excised adenocarcinomas were reviewed. In the liquid‐based preparation, we evaluated cell arrangements (flat sheets vs 3‐D clusters vs single cells), nuclear features (size variability, shape, and contour), nucleoli (prominent or inconspicuous), presence of nuclear inclusions, chromatin (fine, coarse, or clumped), and quality of background. The features were tested by multivariate analysis to identify associations with histological grade and disease‐free survival (DFS), and a cytological score was generated.

RESULTS:

Nuclear size, chromatin pattern, and nuclear contours showed a significant association with histological grade and DFS. These features were included in the composite cytological score (range, 0‐5). By grouping the cytological scores, we stratified the tumors into low (median DFS, 100%), intermediate (median DFS, 78%), and high (median DFS, 55%) rate of recurrence (P = .008). There was a good correlation with the histological grading system.

CONCLUSIONS:

In liquid‐based preparations, distinctive cytological features of pulmonary adenocarcinoma correlate with levels of histological differentiation and can be combined into a score with prognostic significance. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2012. © 2011 American Cancer Society.     

Prognostic significance and interobserver variability of histologic grading systems for endometrial carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The most widely used histologic grading system for endometrial carcinoma is the three-tiered International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system. Although FIGO grading has significant predictive value, the reproducibility of Grade 2 is limited. Recently, a binary grading system was proposed based on the amount of solid growth, the pattern of myometrial invasion, and the presence of tumor cell necrosis. The authors analyzed and compared the prognostic significance and the interobserver variability of both grading systems and of the three criteria for the binary grading system. METHODS: Eight hundred patients with Stage I-III endometrioid endometrial carcinoma were reviewed and graded independently by two pathologists according to the three-tiered FIGO grading system and the novel binary grading system. RESULTS: The interobserver agreement for both systems was moderate, with 70% and 73% agreement rates for the FIGO (kappa = 0.41) and binary (kappa = 0.39) grading systems, respectively. When converting the FIGO grading system into an artificial, 2-tiered grading system (Grade 3 vs. Grades 1-2), the agreement was much better (agreement rate, 85%; kappa = 0.58). Of the 3 criteria for the binary grading system, amount of solid growth (< or = 50% vs. > 50%) had the greatest reproducibility (agreement rate, 80%; kappa = 0.50). Both the 2-tiered FIGO grading system and the binary grading system were significant predictors of local recurrence, distant recurrence, and disease-specific survival (hazard ratios [HRs]: 1.7, 2.5, and 2.6, respectively, for FIGO and 2.1, 4.1, and 3.8, respectively, for the binary grading system). The amount of solid growth also was a strong prognostic factor for these three endpoints (HRs: 2.4, 3.9, and 3.8, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Both the binary grading system and the FIGO grading system had strong prognostic significance. Their reproducibility, however, was limited. A simple architectural binary grading system that divided tumors into low-grade lesions and high-grade lesions based on the proportion of solid growth (< or = 50% or > 50%) had superior prognostic power and greater reproducibility.     

鼻咽癌适形调强放疗远期疗效分析

目的:评价鼻咽癌根治性调强放疗的远期疗效、预后影响因素和毒副作用。方法:回顾性分析868例按UICC/AJCC2002分期为Ⅰ～ⅣB期鼻咽癌患者的疗效、治疗失败因素和毒副作用。868例患者均接受全程根治性调强放疗,301例单纯放疗,567例放化疗。放疗处方剂量:鼻咽大体肿瘤靶区68Gy/30次,颈部淋巴结大体肿瘤靶区60～66Gy/30次,临床靶体积1处方剂量60Gy/30次,临床靶体积2处方剂量54Gy/30次。结果:中位随访时间为50个月(5～115个月),5年疾病特异生存率(DSS)、局部无复发率(LRFR)和无远处转移率(DMFR)分别为84.7%、91.8%和84.6%。186例(21.3%)患者治疗失败,远处失败发生率为67.7%(126/186)。全组186(21.3%)例治疗失败,远处转移最常见(111例,59.7%),其次是鼻咽局部复发(42例,22.6%),颈淋巴结复发较少(10例,5.4%);其他失败模式低于5%,鼻咽+颈部复发8例(4.3%),远处转移+颈部复发8例(4.3%),远处转移+鼻咽复发6例(3.2%),远处转移+鼻咽+颈部复发1例(0.5%)。T1、T2、T3和T4患者的5年LRFR分别为100.0%、96.0%、90.4%和83.3%,χ2=26.32,P=0.000。N0、N1、N2和N3患者5年DMFR分别为96.1%、85.6%、73.7%和62.1%,χ2=65.54,P=0.000。Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ和ⅣA～ⅣB期患者5年DSS分别为100.0%、96.4%、82.7%和70.4%。多因素分析显示,GTV最低剂量是LRFR的唯一预后影响因素,也是DSS影响因素;T和N分期是DMFR及DSS的影响因素。急性不良反应主要为1和2级,同期化疗较单纯IMRT的急性反应重。张口困难和口干的晚期副反应轻微,放射性脑损伤发生在T晚期患者,发生率为5.5%(48/868)。结论:鼻咽癌IMRT能取得较好的临床疗效,远处转移是主要的失败模式,T和N分期晚及GTV接受的最低剂量低是影响鼻咽癌预后的不利因素。急性毒副作用可以较好耐受,张口困难和口干的晚期副反应轻微,但局部晚期患者应注意放射性脑损伤的发生,同期化疗可加重放疗的不良反应。     

Ⅰ期子宫内膜癌术后放疗的临床分析

目的 回顾分析265例Ⅰ期子宫内膜癌术后放疗疗效和不良反应。方法 1999—2012年进行术后放疗的Ⅰ期子宫内膜癌患者共265例。病理类型为子宫内膜样腺癌占85.3%(226例)。根据FIGO2009手术—病理分期。术后辅助放疗方式包括盆腔外照射35例(13.2%)、单纯阴道内照射107例(40.4%)和内外照射联合治疗123例(46.4%)。Kaplan-Meier法计算生存率并Logrank检验差异,Cox模型进行预后因素分析。结果 5年随访率为85.7%。5年OS、PFS、局部复发、远处转移率分别为92.8%、89.7%、4.5%、6.4%。发生3级急性放射性肠炎者仅1例(0.4%),3、4级骨髓抑制者分别为4例(1.5%)、1例(0.4%),1例(0.4%)出现3级慢性肠炎。多因素分析显示子宫下段受累是影响OS和PFS的预后因素(P=0.041、0.001),放疗前贫血是影响OS的因素(P=0.048)。 结论 子宫内膜样腺癌为主的Ⅰ期内膜癌患者进行术后辅助放疗的疗效良好,不良反应轻微,放疗前贫血和子宫下段受累是影响OS的重要因素。     

Pathologic stage I-II endometrial carcinoma in the elderly: radiotherapy indications and outcome

PURPOSE: To assess the indications for, and the outcome of, adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in elderly patients with pathologic Stage I-II endometrial carcinoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between 1980 and 2001, 79 elderly (age > or =75 years) patients with pathologic Stage I-II endometrial carcinoma were seen at our institution. All underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with assessment of peritoneal cytology. Pelvic and paraaortic lymph node sampling was performed in 39 and 29 women, respectively. Patients with Stage IA and IB Grade 1-2 were designated as low risk; those with Stage IB Grade 3 and IC-IIB were designated as high risk. Thirty-four received adjuvant RT consisting of whole pelvic (n = 23) or vaginal brachytherapy (n = 3), or both (n = 8). Actuarial disease-free survival, cause-specific survival, and pelvic recurrence-free survival analyses were performed by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Adverse factors were common, including deep (>50%) myometrial invasion (47%), Grade 3 disease (28%), cervical involvement (15%), and unfavorable histologic features (15%). Overall, 46 patients (58%) had high-risk disease. Primarily because of concerns over toxicity, RT was administered in only 73%, 55%, and 67% of patients with deep myometrial invasion, Grade 3 disease, and cervical involvement, respectively. Thirty-one high-risk patients (67%) received adjuvant RT. At a median follow-up of 33.5 months, 19 patients had relapsed, for a 5-year actuarial disease-free survival rate of 67.7%. Ten patients (12%) had recurrence in the pelvis, 9 of whom had been patients treated with surgery alone. The 5-year pelvic recurrence-free survival rate of patients treated with and without RT was 97% and 73.1%, respectively (p = 0.02). The corresponding rates in the high-risk patients were 97% and 47% (p = 0.0001). High-risk patients treated with RT also had better 5-year actuarial disease-free survival (p = 0.0001) and cause-specific survival (p = 0.003) than those treated with surgery alone. RT was well tolerated, with all patients receiving their treatment as planned. Only 1 patient developed significant late toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Adverse features are common in pathologic Stage I-II elderly endometrial carcinoma patients, and pelvic recurrence is high after surgery alone. Given the improvement in outcome and low incidence of toxicity, our results support the use of adjuvant RT in elderly pathologic Stage I-II patients with high-risk disease.     

Characteristics and outcome of endometrial carcinoma patients age 45 years and younger

Recent reports have suggested that the pathologic features of young patients with endometrial cancer are less favorable than previously thought. We retrospectively reviewed the characteristics and outcome of young patients with endometrial cancer at our institution. A total of 457 surgically staged patients were divided in 2 groups: Group A (age < or =45 years, n = 41) and B (age >45, n = 416). Groups A and B had a similar distribution of tumor stage, grade, histology, lymphovascular invasion, synchronous ovarian primaries, and positive cytology. Although group A tumors had less myometrial invasion (MI) (p = 0.004) and were lower grade (p = 0.06), a trend to more frequent nodal involvement was seen in group A women (p = 0.09). Adverse pathologic features, in particular deep MI, were more common in group A patients older than age 40. Group A patients had a disease-free (p = 0.56) and cause-specific (p = (0.26) survival that was similar to that of group B patients. Young patients with endometrial cancer have a distribution of most pathologic features and equivalent outcome similar to that of older women. However, adverse features are not equally distributed in young women. A discordance may also exist between MI, grade, and nodal involvement.     

Long-term outcome of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma that received transarterial hepatic chemotherapy

Nineteen patients with far advanced hepatocellular carcinoma received transarterial hepatic chemotherapy. Twelve patients were Child-Pugh A, 2 were B, and 2 were C. Seventeen patients had portal vein thrombus, and 2 patients had extra-hepatic metastasis. Among the 19 patients, 13 received low-dose CDDP and 5-FU, and 5-FU with interferon was performed in 2. Lipiodol chemotherapy with epirubicin and MMC was performed after first-line chemotherapy, following the evaluation of the progressive disease. The 1- and 3-year survival rates in all cases were 42.5% and 18.2%, respectively. Of the 18 patients evaluated for response, 1 showed complete response, 2 showed partial responses, 8 had stable disease, and 7 progressed. Median survival time of CR, PR and SD patients was 14.2 months. A multivariate analysis identified CLIP score and therapeutic effect as independent predictors for mortality. It is concluded that transarterial hepatic chemotherapy was very useful for far advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.     

Vaginal recurrences of endometrial carcinoma: the prognostic value of staging by a primary vaginal carcinoma system

Fifty-five of 1716 women with endometrial carcinoma seen consecutively at three institutions prior to 1986 were found to have an isolated post-hysterectomy vaginal recurrence. Their therapy included external radiation therapy (RT) and brachytherapy for 26 women, external RT alone for 17, brachytherapy only for 4, and no RT for 8. Combined external RT/brachytherapy doses ranged from 2000 to 10,000 cGy with a median of 6000 cGy. The 3- and 5-year actuarial survival rates are 48% and 31% for the entire group, and the 3- and 5-year pelvic control rates are 52% and 42%. The 5-year survival and pelvic control rates for those who received greater than or equal to 6000 cGy in total RT dose are 47% and 68%, compared with 12% and 10% for those receiving less than 6000 cGy (p = 0.002 and p = 0.004). For patients receiving their second RT course, the 5-year survival rate is 16%, compared with 48% for those not previously irradiated. The Perez modification of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system for primary vaginal carcinoma was applied to each recurrence. There were 15 Stage I cases (vaginal mucosa), 32 Stage II cases divided between 15 Stage IIA (subvaginal infiltration) and 17 in Stage IIB (parametrial infiltration), and 8 Stage III cases (pelvic wall involvement). The 3-year actuarial survival and pelvic control rates using this staging system are: Stage I: 85%/100%; Stage II: 41%/43%, Stage IIA: 59%/53%, Stage IIB: 26%/35%; Stage III: 13%/0%. These outcome endpoints are significantly better for Stage I than Stage II patients (p = 0.01 & 0.0004) and for Stages I and IIA compared to Stages IIB and III (p = 0.0005 & 0.002). The pre-treatment variables of age, interval since hysterectomy, initial stage, and location did not predict for survival, but a higher rate of pelvic control was observed for apical than for suburethral recurrences (56% vs. 20%). Grade III histology was highly correlated with poor survival (p = 0.0006). This vaginal carcinoma staging system appears to have value in predicting treatment outcome for patients with post-hysterectomy vaginal recurrences.     

Modified grading system for clinical outcome of intracranial non-germinomatous malignant germ cell tumors

This study investigated the clinical outcome of intracranial non-germinomatous malignant germ cell tumors (NGMGCTs). All histologically proven cases of NGMGCTs treated in Shanghai Huashan Hospital, Fudan University were reviewed. A total of 39 cases were analyzed. There were 15 mixed germ cell tumors, 15 immature teratomas, 7 embryonal carcinomas and 2 yolk sac tumors. Patients were treated surgically first, followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Some patients also received gamma knife surgery. The common 5-year survival rate was 36.8%. According to Matsutani's grading system, the 5-year actuarial survival rate for patients in the intermediate and poor prognosis groups were 45.8 and 14.3%, respectively. Individual analysis of each type of tumor showed that the median survival time of embryonal carcinoma was 27 months, which is very close to that of the intermediate group (28 months). We therefore classified embryonal carcinoma into the intermediate group where the 5-year actuarial survival rate for patients in the new intermediate prognosis group was 42.6%. Further analysis of immature teratoma cases found that the 5-year survival rate of patients with immature teratoma who received gamma knife surgery is 100%. This rate exhibited a significant difference (P=0.0049) compared to that of patients who did not undergo gamma knife surgery. In conclusion, we consider surgery as the first choice of treatment although for different histologis, the type of the tumor should be treated separately.     

PTEN expression in endometrial biopsies as a marker of progression to endometrial carcinoma

Inactivation of PTEN tumor suppressor gene is common in endometrial carcinoma and its precursor, atypical endometrial hyperplasia (EH). We compared PTEN expression via immunohistochemistry in endometrial biopsies diagnosed as EH in 138 cases, who were diagnosed with EH and then endometrial carcinoma at least 1 year later (median, 6 years), and 241 individually matched controls, who were diagnosed with EH but did not progress to carcinoma during equivalent follow-up. We assessed PTEN status (normal versus null) in index biopsies containing EH to estimate the relative risk (RR) of developing endometrial carcinoma up to 25 years later. Analysis of 115 cases and 193 controls with satisfactory assays revealed PTEN-null glands in index biopsies of 44% of cases and 49% of controls [P = 0.85; RR, 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.73-3.13]. For predicting progression to carcinoma, PTEN-null status had low sensitivity (44%; 95% CI, 45-54%) and specificity (51%; 95% CI, 44-58%). Among 105 cases with PTEN results for both index biopsy and carcinoma, 16% had a PTEN-null index biopsy, 23% had PTEN-null carcinoma, and 26% had both a PTEN-null index biopsy and carcinoma. Loss of PTEN expression in endometrial biopsies was neither associated with nor a sensitive and specific marker of subsequent progression to endometrial carcinoma.     

Long-term outcome of medullary thyroid carcinoma in patients with normal postoperative medical imaging

Imaging-detected relapses are observed in a significant proportion of patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) with normal postoperative imaging studies. The aim of this study was to search for prognostic factors of imaging-detected relapse. This retrospective study was performed in 63 consecutive MTC patients with normal postoperative medical imaging. After surgery, the basal calcitonin (CT) level was undetectable in 35 patients and elevated in 28. During follow-up, 18 patients developed a clinical or imaging-detected relapse (29%) in the neck and/or at distant sites: 15 had an elevated postoperative basal CT level and three had an undetectable postoperative basal CT level. At multivariate analysis, the significant parameters predictive of imaging-detected relapse were the postoperative plasma CT level and the tumour extension (pT). The 3- and 5-year relapse-free survival rates were 94 and 90% in patients with an undetectable postoperative basal CT level, and 78 and 61% in patients with a detectable basal CT level (P<0.05). The 3- and 5-year relapse-free survival rates were 92 and 85% in the pT1-3 patients, and 57 and 46% in the pT4 patients (P<0.01). These results show that postoperative CT level and tumour extension are critical prognostic factors for the identification of patients at a high risk of relapse.     

Long-term outcome of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation in recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation

Purpose: To investigate the long-term outcome and prognostic factors of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation (LT).

Methods: From 2004 to 2014, 15 patients with 23 hepatic recurrent HCCs after LT underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous RFA. There were 14 males and 1 female aged 54.3?±?9.5?years old (37–78?years old). The average tumour size was 3.3?±?1.2?cm (1.7–6.0?cm). Seven patients had a single HCC and eight had 2–4 HCCs. Regular follow-up after RFA was performed to assess local response rates and long-term survival rates. Survival results were generated using Kaplan–Meier estimates, and a multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox regression model.

Results: The technical success rate was 95.7% (22/23 tumours). The minor complication rate was 7.7% (2/26 sessions), and there were no major complications. The follow-up period was 27.4?±?18.9?months (12–116?months). The local progression rate and intrahepatic new lesion rate were 13.0% (3/23 tumours) and 53.3% (8/15 patients), respectively. Extrahepatic metastasis was found in four patients (26.7%). The 1-, 3- and 5-year estimated overall survival rates were 71.8%, 35.9% and 26.9%, respectively. Additionally, the multivariate analysis revealed that serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) before RFA, tumour number and extrahepatic metastasis were significantly related to overall survival after RFA.

Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous RFA of recurrent HCC after LT had a high technical success rate and local control. However, RFA cannot decrease the frequency of new tumours or extrahepatic metastasis. The AFP level and tumour number before RFA should be considered to predict the outcome.     

Pathologic features of endometrial carcinoma associated with HNPCC: a comparison with sporadic endometrial carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Endometrial carcinoma is a common malignancy in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma (HNPCC). Like colon carcinoma, endometrial carcinoma is diagnosed at an earlier age in women with HNPCC. In contrast to colon carcinoma, the pathologic features of endometrial carcinoma in HNPCC have not been studied in detail. It was the purpose of this study to pathologically characterize a series of HNPCC associated endometrial carcinomas. METHODS: Fifty women with HNPCC and endometrial carcinoma were analyzed from four different hereditary cancer registries. H&E stained slides and pathology reports were reviewed for clinically important pathologic features of endometrial carcinoma. These results were compared with those for two different groups of sporadic endometrial carcinoma--women younger than age 50 years (n = 42) and women of all ages with tumors demonstrating microsatellite instability (MSI-high) secondary to methylation of MLH1 (n = 26). RESULTS: Nearly one-fourth of HNPCC patients in this study had endometrial tumors with pathologic features that would require adjuvant therapy after hysterectomy. There was a trend toward the HNPCC patients having more nonendometrioid tumors; all of these patients were carriers of MSH2 mutations. Such nonendometrioid tumors were extremely rare in the MLH1 methylated group. A subset of MLH1 methylated sporadic tumors demonstrated a unique, 'undifferentiated' histology that was not observed in HNPCC or the young group. CONCLUSION: Data suggest a genotype-phenotype relation in which microsatellite instability resulting from MLH1 methylation is almost exclusively associated with classical or 'undifferentiated' endometrioid tumors, whereas microsatellite instability secondary to MSH2 mutation can result in a more variable histologic spectrum of endometrial carcinoma.     

Relapse of endometrial carcinoma related to steroid receptor concentration, staging, histologic grading and myometrial invasion

Estradiol and progesterone receptor concentrations were positively correlated to the stage of the disease and to the grade of the tumors, but not to myometrial invasion. Myometrial invasion of more than the inner third and degree of differentiation are both important prognostic factors. By combining low estradiol receptor concentration and the degree of myometrial invasion in poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas, stage I-II, it was possible to identify a group of patients containing a high percentage of relapses. This group consisted of 60% of all patients with poorly differentiated carcinoma stage I-II, who had a relapse rate of almost 50%, and were thus suitable for aggressive initial treatment.     

高效孕激素治疗子宫内膜癌/子宫内膜非典型增生的临床疗效及妊娠结局的影响因素分析

目的 探讨高效孕激素醋酸甲羟孕酮治疗子宫内膜癌患者和子宫内膜非典型增生患者的疗效及妊娠结局的影响因素.方法 回顾性分析37例子宫内膜癌患者的临床资料(肿瘤组)和35例子宫内膜非典型增生患者的临床资料(增生组).两组患者均在保留子宫的前提下口服高效孕激素醋酸甲羟孕酮治疗,分析两组患者的治疗效果并计算两年自然受孕率、人工受孕率、分娩率、未孕率,采用Logistic回归分析模型分析患者妊娠的影响因素.结果 肿瘤组患者与增生组患者治疗的有效率、无效率、复发率分别为91.9％、8.1％、2.7％和100％、0、2.9％.肿瘤组患者两年自然受孕率、人工受孕率、分娩率、未孕率分别为45.9％、21.6％、64.9％、32.4％,受孕率为67.6％;增生组患者两年自然受孕率、人工受孕率、分娩率、未孕率分别为60.0％、22.9％、77.1％、17.1％,受孕率为82.9％.72例患者中,54例妊娠,18例未妊娠.妊娠患者具备妊娠条件的年龄小于未妊娠患者,刮宫次数、复发例数均少于未妊娠患者,治疗时间、病变消失时间均短于未妊娠患者,排卵期间子宫内膜厚度大于未妊娠患者,差异均有统计学意义(P﹤0.05);Logistic多因素分析显示,具备妊娠条件的年龄、排卵期间子宫内膜厚度、复发是子宫内膜癌患者和子宫内膜非典型增生患者妊娠的影响因素(P﹤0.01).结论 高效孕激素治疗子宫内膜癌患者和子宫内膜非典型增生患者的效果好,具备妊娠条件的年龄、排卵期间子宫内膜厚度、复发是子宫内膜癌患者和子宫内膜非典型增生患者妊娠的影响因素.     

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in endometrial carcinoma: correlation with clinicopathologic parameters and clinical outcome

BACKGROUND: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is overexpressed in endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma, but no data have been reported until now about the expression of COX-2 and its possible clinical significance in endometrial carcinoma. We investigated by immunohistochemistry the expression of COX-2 in a single institutional series of primary untreated endometrial carcinoma patients. The relationship between COX-2 expression and microsatellite instability (MI) status was also analyzed. METHODS: The study was conducted on 69 primary untreated endometrial carcinoma patients who were admitted to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Catholic University of Rome. Immunohistochemistry was performed by using rabbit polyclonal antiserum against human COX-2. Analysis of MI was performed for 47 patients with endometrial carcinomas. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients (39.1%) were scored as COX-2 positive. COX-2 positivity was higher (60.8%) in endometrial carcinoma with cervical or extrauterine involvement than in tumors limited to the corpus (28.3%; P = 0.0174). COX-2 positivity increased from Grade 1 (13.6%) to Grade 2 (41.7%) to Grade 3 (60.9%) endometrial carcinoma (P = 0.0049). Interestingly, considering early International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage patients (n = 53), the percentage of COX-2 positivity was higher in patients with deep myometrial invasion (66.7%) than in patients without or less than 50% myometrial invasion (15.6%) (P = 0.0003). No association between COX-2 and MI status was found. COX-2-positive patients showed a trend to a shorter disease-free survival than COX-2-negative patients (P = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: COX-2 is expressed in a high percentage of a large series of primary endometrial tumors and its expression may be associated closely with parameters of tumor aggressiveness The possible prognostic role of COX-2 in endometrial carcinoma deserves further study.     

Histologic grading of the extent of residual carcinoma following neoadjuvant chemoradiation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a predictor for patient outcome

BACKGROUND:

Several grading schemes for the extent of residual tumor in posttreatment pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) specimens have been proposed. However, the prognostic significance of these grading schemes is unknown.

METHODS:

Histopathologic slides of 223 cases who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and PD were reviewed. The extent of residual tumor was graded using both the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Evans grading systems. The grading results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and survival.

RESULTS:

Among the 223 patients, 6 patients (2.7%) showed pathologic complete response (pCR; CAP grade 0 or Evans grade IV), 36 cases (16.1%) had minimal residual tumor (CAP grade 1 or Evans grade III), 124 cases (55.6%) had moderate response (CAP grade 2 or Evans grade IIb), and 57 cases (25.6%) had poor response (CAP grade 3, where 18 had Evans grade I and 39 had Evans grade IIa response). Patients with pCR or minimal residual tumor (response group 1) had better survival rates than those with moderate and poor response (response group 2). Response group 1 patients had lower posttherapy tumor and American Joint Committee on Cancer stages and lower rates of lymph node metastasis, positive resection margin, and recurrence and/or metastasis. Grading the extent of residual tumor is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS:

pCR or minimal residual tumor in posttreatment PD specimens correlate with better survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who received neoadjuvant therapy and PD. Histologic grading of the extent of residual tumor in PD specimen is an important prognostic factor in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who received neoadjuvant therapies. Cancer 2012;118: 3182–90. © 2011 American Cancer Society.     

Long-term treatment outcome of minor salivary gland carcinoma of the hard palate

Minor salivary gland carcinoma of the hard palate is rare, and its long-term survival rate is high, making it difficult to evaluate the prognostic factors and the efficacy of treatment. This study was designed to evaluate the treatment outcome of minor salivary gland carcinoma of the hard palate. 103 cases of minor salivary gland carcinoma of the hard palate treated with surgery alone or underwent surgery combined with post-operative radiotherapy hospitalized in Cancer Center, Sun Yet-Sen University, from 1968 to 2008 were reviewed retrospectively. The most common histologic types were adenoid cystic carcinoma in 48 patients(46.6%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma in 37(35.92%), malignant mixed tumor in 15(14.56%), and acinic cell carcinoma in 3(2.91%). The median follow-up time was 74.83 months (range 0.9-356.57 months). Overall outcomes at 5 and 10 years were overall survival (OS), 77.9% and 65.7%; recurrence-free survival (RFS), 64.4% and 53.2%; and disease specific survival (DSS), 77.9% and 67.7%, respectively. There was no significant difference in overall survival (P=0.52), recurrence-free survival (P=0.762) and disease specific survival (P=0.449) between patients who underwent surgery alone and those who underwent surgery plus post-operative radiotherapy. Surgery has been accepted as the primary treatment for minor salivary gland carcinoma of hard palate. Sufficient surgical excision with adequate margins is essential for a favorable outcome. We advocate using radiotherapy in the post-operative context for patients with poorly differentiated, cervical lymph node metastasis, positive or close margins, and large primary lesions.