Majdi Imterat

Gliomatosis peritonei with ovarian teratoma: an international multicenter case series

Gliomatosis peritonei (GP) is a rare condition characterized by peritoneal implants of mature glial tissue, macroscopically resembling peritoneal carcinomatosis. It is usually associated with ovarian mature or immature teratoma. To describe the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of cases with GP. Multi-center retrospective study of patients diagnosed with ovarian teratoma and GP between 2000 and 2023. Non-gynecological GP cases were excluded. Overall, 23 patients were included. Median age was 25 years (range; 10-38). Median ovarian tumor size was 19 cm (range; 6-35). The main symptom was abdominal pain (n = 13). Histology was mature teratoma in 13% (n = 3), and immature teratoma in 87% (n = 20) of cases, of which 90% (n = 18) was pure teratomas and 10% (n = 2) was mixed with yolk sac tumor. Overall, 60% were grade 3. Fertility-sparing surgery was performed in 87% (n = 20, of them 18 underwent unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and 2 cystectomy ± further biopsies) without macroscopic residual disease in 91% (n = 21), and 78% (n = 18) were diagnosed at stage I. Adjuvant chemotherapy was given in 7 cases, only with grade 2 or more. Twelve women relapsed after a median of 43 months. However, only 2 relapses had immature teratoma components. Three patients had a second relapse after a median of 9 months. Over a median follow-up of 81 months (range; 7-270), the entire cohort remained alive and 3 live births were reported. GP is mostly associated with high-grade early-stage immature teratoma in young patients. Resection of peritoneal implants is crucial for the accurate diagnosis and optimal treatment planning. Relapses are mostly mature, therefore, offering fertility-sparing treatment in pre-menopausal cases could be considered.

Early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer: is systematic lymph node staging mandatory?

Lymph node staging in grade 1–2 endometrioid ovarian carcinoma apparently confined to the ovary: Is it worth?

The aim of this study was to assess the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with grade 1-2 endometrioid ovarian carcinoma apparently confined to the ovary, according to surgical staging. Multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study. Patients with endometrioid ovarian carcinoma, surgical procedure performed between May 1985 and December 2019, stage pT1 N0/N1/Nx, grade 1-2 were included. Patients were stratified according to lymphadenectomy (defined as removal of any lymph node versus no lymph node assessment), and subgroup analyses according to tumor grade were performed. Kaplan-Meier curves and cox regression analyses were used to perform survival analyses. 298 patients were included. 199 (66.8 %) patients underwent lymph node assessment. Of these, 166 (83.4 %) had unilateral/bilateral pelvic and para-aortic/caval lymphadenectomy. Eleven (5.5 %) patients of those who underwent lymph node assessment showed pathologic metastatic lymph nodes (FIGO stage IIIA1). Twenty-seven patients (9.1 %) had synchronous endometrioid endometrial cancer. After a median follow up of 45 months (95 %CI:37.5-52.5), 5-year DFS and OS of the entire cohort were 89.8 % and 96.2 %, respectively. Age ≤ 51 years (HR=0.24, 95 %CI:0.06-0.91; p = 0.036) and performance of lymphadenectomy (HR=0.25, 95 %CI: 0.07-0.82; p = 0.022) represented independent protective factors toward risk of death. Patients undergoing lymphadenectomy had better 5-year DFS and OS compared to those not receiving lymphadenectomy, 92.0 % versus 85.6 % (p = 0.016) and 97.7 % versus 92.8 % (p = 0.013), respectively. This result was confirmed after exclusion of node-positive patients. When stratifying according to tumor grade (node-positive excluded), patients with grade 2 who underwent lymphadenectomy had better 5-year DFS and OS than those without lymphadenectomy (93.0 % versus 83.1 %, p = 0.040 % and 96.5 % versus 90.6 %, p = 0.037, respectively). Staging lymphadenectomy in grade 2 endometrioid ovarian carcinoma patients was associated with improved DFS and OS. Grade 1 and grade 2 might be considered as two different entities, which could benefit from different approach in terms of surgical staging. Prospective studies, including molecular profiles are needed to confirm the survival drivers in this rare setting.