Hüsnü Çelik

Accuracy of intra-operative frozen section in guiding surgical staging of endometrial cancer

Surgery consists the main treatment of endometrial cancer; however, decision of lypmhadenectomy is controversial. Intra-operative frozen section (FS) is commonly used in guiding surgical staging; nevertheless, there are different reports regarding its adequacy and reliability. Aim of this study is to assess accuracy of FS in predicting paraffin section (PS) results in patients with endometrium cancer. Data of 223 cases, who were operated for endometrial cancer at a tertiary hospital in 2012-2019, were analyzed retrospectively. Histological type, grade, tumor diameter, depth of myometrial invasion, and cervical and adnexal involvement in frozen and paraffin section were evaluated. Positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of frozen results in predicting paraffin results for each parameter was assessed. Statistical significance was taken as 0.05 in all tests. Accuracy of FS in predicting PS results were 76.23% for histology, 75.45% for grade, 85.31% for depth of myometrial invasion, and 95.45% for tumor diameter. Surgery, based on FS results, caused undertreatment in 4 patients, while metastatic lymph node ratios were found in only 35.3-50.0% of cases who had high risk parameters at FS. Our FS results have reasonable accuracy rates in predicting PS results, in comparison with the previous literature. However, even if the high risk parameters detected in FS predict PS accurately, absence of lymph node involvement in all cases with high risk parameters indicates that FS-based triage cannot prevent unnecessary lymphadenectomies.

Safety of laparoscopic surgery in the management of endometrioid endometrial cancer

Abstract Background: Laparoscopic surgery has increasingly been preferred in recent years. However, data regarding the safety of laparoscopy in endometrial cancer are not sufficient. The aim of this study was to compare perioperative and oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic and laparotomic staging surgery in patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic surgery in this population. Methods: Data of 278 patients, who underwent surgical staging for endometrioid endometrial cancer at the gynecologic oncology department of a university hospital between 2012 and 2019, were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic, histopathologic, perioperative, and oncologic characteristics were compared between laparoscopy and laparotomy groups. A subgroup of patients with a body mass index (BMI) >30 was further evaluated. Results: Demographic and histopathologic characteristics were similar between the two groups, while laparoscopic surgery was seen to be significantly superior in terms of perioperative outcomes. The number of removed and metastatic lymph nodes was significantly higher in the laparotomy group; however, this difference did not affect the oncologic outcomes, including recurrence and survival rates, and the two groups had similar results in this aspect. The outcomes of the subgroup with BMI >30 were also in accordance with the whole population. Intraoperative complications in laparoscopy were managed successfully. Conclusions: Laparoscopic surgery appears to be advantageous over laparotomy, and depending on the surgical experience, it may be performed safely for surgical staging of endometrioid endometrial cancer.

What is the predictive value of preoperative CA 125 level on the survival rate of type 1 endometrial cancer?

To investigate the utility of preoperative serum cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) levels in type 1 endometrial carcinoma (EC) as a marker for determining poor prognostic factors and survival. All patients with endometrial cancer, who had been treated between 2012 and 2020, were retrospectively reviewed, and finally, 256 patients with type 1 endometrium carcinoma were included in the study. The relationship between the clinicopathological characteristics, CA 125 level, and survival rates were analyzed. The cut-off value for the preoperative serum CA 125 level was defined as 16 IU/L. The median serum CA 125 levels were significantly higher in patients with deep myometrial invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular space invasion, cervical stromal and adnexal involvement, advanced stage, positive peritoneal cytology, recurrence, and adjuvant therapy requirement. Serum CA 125 cut-off values determined according to clinicopathologic factors ranged from 15.3 to 22.9 IU/L (sensitivity 61%–77%, specificity 52%–73%). The disease-specific survival rate was significantly higher in patients with CA 125 levels < 16 IU/L (P = 0.047). The data showed that choosing a lower threshold value for the CA 125 level (16 IU/L) instead of 35 IU/L, could be more useful in type 1 EC patients with negative prognostic factors.

Laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy: Technique and surgical outcomes

Pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection is an important part of staging surgery. Aim of this study is to evaluate perioperative outcomes of patients, who underwent laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy for gynecological cancer in a single center over a period of 7 years, based on body mass index (BMI), and to present the surgical technique in steps. Data of patients who underwent para-aortic lymphadenectomy at gynecological oncology department of a tertiary center in between March 2013 and July 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were evaluated in two groups according to their BMI (< 30 kg/m A total of 230 patients were included in the study. BMI was ≥30 at 58.46 % of the patients. Peri-operative features were not significantly affected by the patient's BMI with the presented surgical technique, however, collected para-aortic lymph node numbers were higher in the group with BMI < 30, though sufficient number of lymph nodes were achieved in both groups. Although some technical difficulties may be encountered, laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy is feasable in gynecologic oncological surgery independent of BMI. However, surgical experience is important.

Multi-institutional validation of the ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO consensus conference risk grouping in Turkish endometrial cancer patients treated with comprehensive surgical staging

In this study, 683 patients with endometrial cancer (EC) after comprehensive surgical staging were classified into four risk groups as low (LR), intermediate (IR), high-intermediate (HIR) and high-risk (HR), according to the recent consensus risk grouping. Patients with disease confined to the uterus, ≥50% myometrial invasion (MI) and/or grade 3 histology were treated with vaginal brachytherapy (VBT). Patients with stage II disease, positive/close surgical margins or extra-uterine extension were treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT)±VBT. The median follow-up was 56 months. The overall survival (OS) was significantly different between LR and HR groups, and there was a trend between LR and HIR groups. Relapse-free survival (RFS) was significantly different between LR and HIR, LR and HR and IR and HR groups. There was no significant difference in OS and RFS rates between the HIR and HR groups. In HR patients, the OS and RFS rates were significantly higher in stage IB - grade 3 and stage II compared to stage III and non-endometrioid histology without any difference between the two uterine-confined stages and between stage III and non-endometrioid histology. The current risk grouping does not clearly discriminate the HIR and IR groups. In patients with comprehensive surgical staging, a further risk grouping is needed to distinguish the real HR group.Impact statement

Impact of Power Morcellation and Histopathological Subtypes on the Development of Peritoneal Leiomyomatosis Following Laparoscopic Myomectomy

ABSTRACT Aim Laparoscopic myomectomy with power morcellation is a common approach for the management of uterine myomas. However, besides myoma recurrence, rare complications such as peritoneal leiomyomatosis may arise postoperatively. The histopathological subtype of fibroids—particularly cellular leiomyoma—may impact the risk of recurrence and dissemination, though current evidence remains limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of power morcellation on the development of disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis and to assess the association between the histopathological subtype of myoma and patient outcomes during follow‐up. Methods This retrospective cohort study analyzed 997 patients who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy with power morcellation at a single tertiary center between 2012 and 2024. Patients were followed through clinical evaluations and ultrasonography. Peritoneal leiomyomatosis was evaluated in relation to surgical technique (confined vs. unconfined morcellation) and histopathological subtype. Results Of the 553 patients with available follow‐up, myoma recurrence was observed in 130 (23.5%), reoperation in 53 (9.6%), and peritoneal leiomyomatosis in 8 patients (1.4%). All peritoneal leiomyomatosis cases occurred in the unconfined morcellation group. Cellular leiomyoma was identified in 5 of the 8 peritoneal leiomyomatosis cases (62.5%). One peritoneal leiomyomatosis case was diagnosed as leiomyosarcoma after surgery for disseminated leiomyomatosis. Overall myoma recurrence was significantly higher in patients with multiple myomas and in those with cellular leiomyoma. Conclusion Peritoneal leiomyomatosis is a rare complication of laparoscopic myomectomy and increased incidence after unconfined morcellation is a serious concern. Confined (in‐bag) morcellation appears to reduce the risk of peritoneal leiomyomatosis and should be the standard of care. Diagnosis of myomas as cellular leiomyoma subtype on histopathology merits high clinical suspicion for possibility of subsequent peritoneal leiomyomatosis in patients with unconfined morcellation. Therefore, close and long‐term follow‐up of these patients is essential.