T. Gauthier

Should we perform subtotal hysterectomy associated with sacral colpopexy for genital prolapse to prevent the risk of endometrial cancer?

In a menopausal woman scheduled for curative surgery for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) by sacral colpopexy (SC), the question of concomitant hysterectomy is frequently considered by the surgeon. The risk of endometrial cancer (EC) exists in this population, and increases with age and body mass index. The French college of gynecologists and obstetricians (CNGOF) decided to issue good practice guidelines on subtotal hysterectomy (SH) for postmenopausal women scheduled for SC for POP. The CNGOF has decided to adopt the AGREE II and GRADE systems for grading scientific evidence. Each recommendation for practice was allocated a grade, which depends on the quality of evidence (QE) (clinical practice guidelines). The prevalence of occult endometrial cancer (EC) found on pathological analysis after SH in this context (concomitant SH associated with SC) is low (<1%) (QE: high). Few studies have assessed the value of preoperative uterine exploration. Performing SH during SC is associated with its own risks, which may diminish the potential "carcinological prevention benefit". Uterine morcellation, performed by laparoscopy or a robot-assisted procedure, is associated with a low risk (<0.6%) of dissemination of an unknown sarcoma/EC (QE: moderate) A risk of dissemination of parasitic myomas (<0.5%) is also possible (QE: moderate). It is not recommended to perform a subtotal hysterectomy associated with sacral colpopexy for the sole purpose of reducing the occurrence of endometrial cancer (Recommendation: STRONG [GRADE 1-]; the level of evidence was considered to be low and the risk-benefit balance was considered not to be favorable).

Impact of age on tumor size in vulvar cancer: A multicenter study by the Francogyn group

Vulvar cancer is a rare pathology affecting mainly elderly women. This study aims to evaluate the impact of age on tumor size in vulvar cancer. This was a multicenter retrospective observational study carried out between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2020, in patients operated on for vulvar cancer. Univariate analysis was performed according to patients' age ≥ or <65 years. Factors associated with tumor size found to be significant according to age were then included in a multiple linear regression model. Of the 382 patients included, there were 133 patients aged <65 years and 249 ≥ 65 years. Radical total vulvectomy surgeries were more frequently performed in women ≥65 years (n = 72 (28.9 %) versus n = 20 (15 %); p = 0.004). The median histological tumor size and interquartile range was 20 mm [13-29] in the <65 years and 30 mm [15-42] in patients ≥65 years (p = 0.001). Multiple linear regression showed that age ≥65 years had a regression coefficient of 7.15 95 % CI [2.32; 11.99] (p = 0.004), constituting a risk factor for larger histological tumour size. Patients aged ≥65 years old had a higher early complication rate (n = 150 (62 %) versus n = 56 (42.7 %), p = 0.001). They also had a greater risk of recurrence (HR = 1.89 (95%CI (1.24-2.89)), p = 0.003) with a worse overall survival (HR = 5.64 (95%CI (1.70-18.68)), p = 0.005). Age is a risk factor for larger tumor size, leading to more radical surgery and a greater risk of complications in already fragile patients, with a greater risk of recurrence and an impact on overall survival.

First external validity study of the Fagotti score in ovarian cancer

Abstract Epithelial ovarian cancer is mostly discovered at the stage of peritoneal carcinosis. Complete cytoreductive surgery improves overall survival. The Fagotti score is a predictive score of resectability based on peritoneal laparoscopic exploratory. Our aim was to study the inter-observer concordance in an external validation of the Fagotti score. An observational, prospective, multicenter study was conducted using the Francogyn research network. The primary outcome was inter-observer concordance of the Fagotti score. 15 patients in which an ovarian mass was discovered were included. For each patient, the first exploratory laparoscopy before any treatment/chemotherapy was recorded. This bank of 15 videos was subject to blind review accompanied by a Fagotti score rating by 11 gynecological surgeons specializing in oncology. A total of 165 blind reviews were performed. Inter-observer concordance was very good for the Fagotti score with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.83 [95% CI 0.71; 0.93]. Inter-observer concordance for the adjusted Fagotti score, which accounts for unexplorable areas with extensive carcinomatosis, resulted in an ICC of 0.64 [95% CI 0.46; 0.82]. According to the reviewers, the three least explorable parameters were mesentery involvement, stomach infiltration and liver damage. The ICC of the explorable Fagotti score, i.e. score with deletion of the parameters most often unexplored by laparoscopy, was 0.86 [0.75–0.94]. This study confirms the reproducibility of the Fagotti score during first assessment laparoscopies in cases of advanced ovarian cancer. The explorable Fagotti score has an equivalent or better inter-observer concordance than the Fagotti score.