No abstract

ObjectiveThe objective of the ConCerv Trial was to prospectively evaluate the feasibility of conservative surgery in women with early-stage, low-risk cervical cancer.MethodsFrom April 2010 to March 2019, a prospective, single-arm, multicenter study evaluated conservative surgery in participants from 16 sites in nine countries. Eligibility criteria included: (1) FIGO 2009 stage IA2–IB1 cervical carcinoma; (2) squamous cell (any grade) or adenocarcinoma (grade 1 or 2 only) histology; (3) tumor size <2 cm; (4) no lymphovascular space invasion; (5) depth of invasion <10 mm; (6) negative imaging for metastatic disease; and (7) negative conization margins. Cervical conization was performed to determine eligibility, with one repeat cone permitted. Eligible women desiring fertility preservation underwent a second surgery with pelvic lymph node assessment, consisting of sentinel lymph node biopsy and/or full pelvic lymph node dissection. Those not desiring fertility preservation underwent simple hysterectomy with lymph node assessment. Women who had undergone an ‘inadvertent’ simple hysterectomy with an unexpected post-operative diagnosis of cancer were also eligible if they met the above inclusion criteria and underwent a second surgery with pelvic lymph node dissection only.Results100 evaluable patients were enrolled. Median age at surgery was 38 years (range 23–67). Stage was IA2 (33%) and IB1 (67%). Surgery included conization followed by lymph node assessment in 44 women, conization followed by simple hysterectomy with lymph node assessment in 40 women, and inadvertent simple hysterectomy followed by lymph node dissection in 16 women. Positive lymph nodes were noted in 5 patients (5%). Residual disease in the post-conization hysterectomy specimen was noted in 1/40 patients—that is, an immediate failure rate of 2.5%. Median follow-up was 36.3 months (range 0.0–68.3). Three patients developed recurrent disease within 2 years of surgery—that is, a cumulative incidence of 3.5% (95% CI 0.9% to 9.0%).DiscussionOur prospective data show that select patients with early-stage, low-risk cervical carcinoma may be offered conservative surgery.

The ring pessary fitting can be attempted in all POP cases irrespective of stage. Short vaginal length <6 cm and wide introitus >4 fingerbreadths were the risk factors for unsuccessful fitting. It has an acceptable continuation rate and manageable adverse events. The self-care of pessary is an important strategy to minimize adverse events.

Objective To identify the frequency of BRCA mutation in patients with high grade epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Methods Patients with EOC included fallopian tube cancer or peritoneal cancer with high grade serous or high grade endometrioid were recruited. BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations were tested and analyzed by next generation sequencing system. Results A total of 87 patients were recruited; majority of them (88.5%) were EOC, 5.7% fallopian tube cancer, 4.6% peritoneal cancer, and 1.1% synchronous primary ovarian and endometrial cancer. Seventy-four patients (85.1%) had high grade serous carcinoma and 13 patients (14.9%) had high grade endometrioid carcinoma. Germline BRCA mutation was detected in 19 patients (21.8%); 14 patients (16.1%) had BRCA1 mutation and 5 patients (5.7%) had BRCA2 mutation. All BRCA mutations were found in patients with high grade serous carcinoma (25.7%) but none in high grade endometrioid carcinoma. Six from 19 patients (31.6%) who had BRCA mutation had no family history of breast and ovarian cancers. Higher frequency of BRCA mutation was detected in patients with fallopian tube cancer; 3 in 5 patients (60%) followed by peritoneal cancer; 2 in 4 patients (50%), and EOC; 14 in 77 patients (18.2%). Conclusion The frequency of BRCA mutation in high grade serous carcinoma was 25.7%, none was found in high grade endometrioid carcinoma. High cost, unavailability of genetic testing, limited number of geneticists, may be barriers in limited resource countries. Selected patients especially high grade serous carcinoma should be considered initially.