Eleni Timotheadou

The Contribution of Lipidomics in Ovarian Cancer Management: A Systematic Review

Lipidomics is a comprehensive study of all lipid components in living cells, serum, plasma, or tissues, with the aim of discovering diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers for diseases such as malignant tumors. This systematic review evaluates studies, applying lipidomics to the diagnosis, prognosis, prediction, and differentiation of malignant and benign ovarian tumors. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Science Direct, and SciFinder. Only publications written in English after 2012 were included. Relevant citations were identified from the reference lists of primary included studies and were also included in our list. All studies included referred to the application of lipidomics in serum/plasma samples from human cases of OC, some of which also included tumor tissue samples. In some of the included studies, metabolome analysis was also performed, in which other metabolites were identified in addition to lipids. Qualitative data were assessed, and the risk of bias was determined using the ROBINS-I tool. A total of twenty-nine studies were included, fifteen of which applied non-targeted lipidomics, seven applied targeted lipidomics, and seven were reviews relevant to our objectives. Most studies focused on the potential application of lipidomics in the diagnosis of OC and showed that phospholipids and sphingolipids change most significantly during disease development. In conclusion, this systematic review highlights the potential contribution of lipids as biomarkers in OC management.

The Role of Delayed Interval Debulking Surgery (DIDS) in the Surgical Treatment of Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort from an ESGO-Certified Center

Background/Objectives: Patients with advanced ovarian cancer with a high tumor burden typically undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery. The optimal number of NACT cycles remains undefined: although three to four cycles are considered gold-standard, in real-world practice, five or more cycles are frequently administrated. This study aims to evaluate the impact of delayed interval debulking surgery (DIDS) after ≥5 cycles of NACT on the survival rates. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of women with advanced ovarian cancer that underwent surgery in the 1st Department of Obstetrics–Gynecology Clinic from 2012 to 2022. Patient characteristics, oncological, and follow-up information were collected. Results: A total of 125 patients met the inclusion criteria and were divided into two groups: Group A (77 patients) received 3–4 of NACT cycles, and Group B (48 patients) ≥5 cycles. No statistically significant difference was observed between the groups concerning age, BMI, comorbidities, Aletti score, FIGO stage, pre-operative CA-125 values, surgery duration, rate of postoperative complications, hospital stay, ICU admittance, and complete gross resection (RD = 0). However, patients undergoing DIDS experienced significantly greater intraoperative blood loss. Progression-free survival did not differ between groups (IDS: 17 vs. DIDS: 18 months, p = 0.561), whereas overall survival was significantly lower in the DIDS group (IDS: 52 vs. DIDS: 36 months, p = 0.00873). This statistical significance persisted after controlling for residual disease, but was lost after adjusting for FIGO stage. Conclusions: DIDS may be considered for advanced ovarian cancer patients with a high tumor burden, when complete gross resection (RD = 0) cannot be achieved during IDS. Further prospective randomized trials are necessary to evaluate its oncological safety and morbidity.

External Validation of the New 2023 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Staging System in Endometrial Cancer Patients: 12-Year Experience from an European Society of Gynecological Oncology-Accredited Center

Background and Objectives: The new molecular classification of endometrial cancer continuously changes the management of the disease in everyday clinical practice. Recently, FIGO released a new staging system for endometrial cancer, which incorporates molecular substages and subdivides further early-stage disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between the two FIGO staging systems and evaluate the prognostic precision of the new one. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of patients with endometrial cancer that were fully treated in the 1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, in 2012–2023. Patient characteristics, oncological outcome, and follow-up information were collected. The primary outcomes were the stage shifts and the survival data. Results: Sixty-seven (15.5%) patients had a stage shift and the majority of them concerned early-stage disease and specifically an upshift from 2009 stages IA and IB to 2023 stage IIC. Concerning survival, a better median and 5-year PFS was present in stage II disease, and when comparing the prognostic precision of the two FIGO staging systems no significant difference was present. Conclusions: The new 2023 FIGO staging system better distinguishes early-stage endometrial cancer into its prognostic groups and seems to be as precise as the old 2009 FIGO staging system.

CA-125 KELIM as an Alternative Predictive Tool to Identify Which Patients Can Benefit from PARPi in High-Grade Serous Advanced Ovarian Cancer: A Retrospective Pilot Diagnostic Accuracy Study

BRCA mutation and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) are the criteria for the administration of PARP inhibitor (PARPi) maintenance therapy. It is known that PARPi efficacy is related to platinum sensitivity and that the latter can be demonstrated from the CA-125 elimination rate constant (KELIM). This study aims to investigate if KELIM can be another tool in the identification of patients that could be benefit from PARPi therapy. Retrospective analysis of patients with high-grade serous advanced ovarian cancer that underwent cytoreduction and was further tested for HRD status. The HRD status was tested either by myChoice HRD CDx assay or by RediScore assay. KELIM score was measured in both neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings with the online tool biomarker-kinetics.org. A total of 39 patients had available data for estimating both HRD status and KELIM score. When assuming KELIM as a binary index test with the value 1 as the cut-off point, the sensitivity was 0.86, 95% CI (0.64–0.97) and the specificity was 0.83, 95% CI (0.59–0.96). On the other hand, when assuming KELIM as a continuous index test, the area under the curve (AUC) was 81% and the optimal threshold, using the Youden index, was identified as 1.03 with a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 83.3%. KELIM score seems to be a new, cheaper, and faster tool to identify patients that can benefit from PARPi maintenance therapy.