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Lymph node metastases in cases of advanced ovarian cancer may contain cancer cells that are especially resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Researchers compared DNA content and S-phrase fraction in samples taken from the primary ovarian tumor, metastases elsewhere in the pelvic cavity, and metastases to pelvic and aortic lymph nodes in 35 women with stage III or stage IV ovarian cancer. Pelvic metastases had a similar profile to the primary tumor, but lymph node metastases were more likely to have characteristics known to be associated with resistance to treatment.

Laparoscopic surgery using small incisions and instruments may be thorough enough for radical hysterectomies including removal of cancerous lymph nodes. Researchers performed type III radical hysterectomies on 10 cancer patients, divided the procedure into eight segments, and reviewed each segment by video. Laparoscopies were successful in removing the uterus and affected lymph nodes. No patient required blood transfusions, and the length of hospital stay was shorter than average. There were no complications during or after surgery. Laparoscopy was limited to patients who were not obese.

Elevated levels of fibrin(ogen) degradation products (FDP) have been detected in second-trimester amniotic fluid in association with open neural tube defects (NTD's) in the fetus. The FDP assay has been proposed for the prenatal diagnosis of NTD's and in this paper is compared with the established use of the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) assay. FDP and AFP levels were measured in 132 amniotic fluid samples, including 20 NTD cases. The false negative and false positive rates for the FDP assay are high compared with the AFP assay, but it may be of value as an adjunct assay to reduce the over-all false positive rate.