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Objective: Chronic ectopic pregnancy is a variant of ectopic pregnancy featured with a low or normal serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) test. Obscure clinical presentations and non-specific images make chronic ectopic pregnancy a diagnostic dilemma until now. Case Report: A 40-year-old female was misdiagnosed as tubo-ovarian abscess initially due to chronic lower abdominal pain, negative pregnancy test, and a complicated pelvic mass on abdominal CT scan and serial follow-up ultrasonography. Diagnostic laparoscopy was performed because of persistent pelvic mass with abdominal pain and irregular vaginal bleeding. Left tubal salpingectomy was performed and pathology reported a hematocele with inactive trophoblast tissue. Chronic ectopic pregnancy was proved. The symptoms resolved completely after our surgery. Conclusion: An abnormal adnexal mass with a history of recent pregnancy could still be possible for chronic ectopic pregnancy even with a negative pregnancy test. Diagnostic laparoscopy and pathology confirmation could be helpful when the clinical manifestation is confusing.

Objective: Low-risk, early stage, ovarian endometrioid carcinoma seems to have little chance to recur in clinical practice. Such a patient developed widespread, life-threatening pulmonary metastases is also extreme rare and is worthy to be reported. Case report: A 53-year-old female, who was diagnosed to have stage IA, grade 2, ovarian endometrioid carcinoma, developed a life threatening widespread lung metastasis in 2 years after primary surgery. She received salvage systemic chemotherapy with paclitaxel plus carboplatin. Bevacizumab was added after occurrence of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia during chemotherapy. The patient had clinical improvement and radiological stable after systemic therapy. Conclusion: Our case report enhances the aggressive post-operative surveillance including chest field would still be recommended even in the low-risk patients. To detect distant metastases earlier probably has higher chance of cure by systemic therapy.

Abstract Background Sarcopenia is commonly observed in patients with advanced‐stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). However, the effect of body composition changes—during primary debulking surgery (PDS) and adjuvant platinum‐based chemotherapy—on outcomes of patients with advanced‐stage EOC is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association between body composition changes and outcomes of patients with stage III EOC treated with PDS and adjuvant platinum‐based chemotherapy. Methods Pre‐treatment and post‐treatment computed tomography (CT) images of 139 patients with stage III EOC were analysed. All CT images were contrast‐enhanced scans and were acquired according to a standardized protocol. The skeletal muscle index (SMI), skeletal muscle radiodensity (SMD), and total adipose tissue index were measured using CT images obtained at the L3 vertebral level. Predictors of overall survival were identified using Cox regression models. Results The median follow‐up was 37.9 months. The median duration between pre‐treatment and post‐treatment CT was 182 days (interquartile range: 161–225 days). Patients experienced an average SMI loss of 1.8%/180 days (95% confidence interval: −3.1 to −0.4; P = 0.01) and SMD loss of 1.7%/180 days (95% confidence interval: −3.3 to −0.03; P = 0.046). SMI and SMD changes were weakly correlated with body mass index changes (Spearman ρ for SMI, 0.15, P = 0.07; ρ for SMD, 0.02, P = 0.82). The modified Glasgow prognostic score was associated with SMI loss (odds ratio: 2.42, 95% confidence interval: 1.03–5.69; P = 0.04). The median time to disease recurrence was significantly shorter in patients with SMI loss ≥5% after treatment than in those with SMI loss

Uterine sarcoma is a very aggressive and highly lethal disease. Even after a comprehensive staging surgery or en block cytoreduction surgery followed by multimodality therapy (often chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy), many patients relapse or present with distant metastases, and finally die of diseases. The worst outcome of uterine sarcomas is partly because of their rarity, unknown etiology, and highly divergent genetic aberration. Uterine sarcomas are often classified into four distinct subtypes, including uterine leiomyosarcoma, low-grade uterine endometrial stromal sarcoma, high-grade uterine endometrial stromal sarcoma, and undifferentiated uterine sarcoma. Currently, evidence from tumor biology found that these tumors showed alternation and/or mutation of genomes and the intracellular signal pathway. In addition, some preclinical studies showed promising results for targeting receptor tyrosine kinase signaling, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway, various kinds of growth factor pathways, Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, transforming growth factor β/bone morphogenetic protein signal pathway, aurora kinase A, MDM2 proto-oncogene, histone deacetylases, sex hormone receptors, certain types of oncoproteins, and/or loss of tumor suppressor genes. The current review is attempted to summarize the recurrent advance of targeted therapy for uterine sarcomas.

Uterine sarcomas account for 3–7% of all uterine cancers. Because of their rarity, unknown etiology, and highly divergent genetic aberration, there is a lack of consensus on risk factors for occurrence and predictive poor outcomes as well as optimal therapeutic choices. Tumor types according to the World Health Organization classification include leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stroma sarcoma, and undifferentiated sarcoma. Staging is done using the 2014 Federation International Gynecology and Obstetrics and 2010 American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor, lymph node, and metastases systems. Tumor grade can be classified based on the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group system or the Broder’s system that incorporates tumor differentiation, mitotic count, and tumor necrosis. This review is a series of articles discussing uterine sarcoma, and this is Part I, which focuses on one of the subtypes of uterine sarcomas—uterine leiomyosarcoma. The clinical characteristics, diagnosis, outcome, and recent advances are summarized in this article.

Endometrial stromal tumors are rare uterine tumors (

Objective: To dissect the correlated hematologic markers that reflect the clinical outcome or treatment response in patients receiving dose-dense chemotherapy with a combination of platinum (cisplatin or carboplatin) and paclitaxel. Materials and Methods: From 2009 to 2014, we enrolled 55 ovarian cancer patients (total 67 courses) including first-line, persistent, platinum-sensitive, or platinum-resistant disease in MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Weekly pretreatment complete blood counts and calculated ratios [platelet/neutrophil ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil/monocyte ratio, platelet/monocyte ratio, lymphocyte/monocyte ratio] during dose-dense chemotherapy were collected. By grouping these hematologic biomarkers into three different response subgroups (responsive, stable, and nonresponsive) according to CA125 trend, the data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, and using post hoc-Tukey test for comparing each other. A p value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Absolute counts of lymphocytes and platelets, PLR, platelet/neutrophil ratio, platelet/monocyte ratio (all p < 0.001), and NLR (p=0.013) had statistically significant differences. Moreover, using box-and-whisker plot, absolute count of lymphocyte, PLR, and NLR showed most remarkable discrepancy in responsive, stable, and nonresponsive patients. Subgroup analysis for primary, platinum-sensitive, and platinum-resistant patients further revealed that PLR and NLR were significantly correlated to the outcome of dose-dense chemotherapy. Conclusion: Lower PLR or lower NLR had better treatment response for dose-dense chemotherapy and are possible markers for representing treatment response in dose-dense chemotherapy. For a clinician, this is useful for timing when to switch to another chemotherapy regimen.

Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of ovarian preservation on the survival of women with early-stage endometrial cancer, particularly young women. Materials and methods: A study cohort of 64 patients with histologically confirmed early-stage endometrial cancer was retrospectively collected from 10 member hospitals of the Taiwanese Gynecologic Oncology Group between 1998 and 2009. Survivorship and overall survival were compared between these two groups using a log-rank test. Results: All patients who underwent surgery were adult women with a mean age of 40.4 ± 9.2 years (range 24–63 years). Ovary-preserving surgery was performed in 38 (59.4%) patients who desired to preserve their ovaries, incidentally in 19 (29.7%) patients with a preoperative diagnosis other than endometrial carcinoma, and in seven patients (10.9%) with unknown reasons. The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 98.3% with a median follow up of 44.6 months (range 1.0–126.9 months). Eight patients required adjuvant treatment (12.5%); one patient had documented local recurrence (1.6%); and no metachronous ovarian malignancy occurred during follow up. Conclusion: Preservation of bilateral ovaries does not increase cancer-related mortality. A more conservative approach to surgical staging may be considered in premenopausal women with early-stage endometrial cancer without risk factors.

Objective: The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of simple extrafascial hysterectomy for patients with clinical stage IA1 cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) after once conization regardless of any pathologic risk factor. Materials and Methods: All cases with T1a1, SCC lesion in their cervical cone specimen were retrospectively collected after chart and pathology review for the period between January 2002 and December 2009. All cases underwent subsequent hysterectomies within a month of diagnosis. Pathologic risk factors of conization, surgical scale of hysterectomy, residual lesion of the uterus, necessity of adjuvant radiation therapy, complications, and survival were analyzed in this study. Results: Eighty-one cases were identified from the registry. Most were managed by simple hysterectomy (SH; 60/81, 74%), and the remaining 21 cases underwent modified radical hysterectomy (MRH). All cases without any risk factors in their cone specimens demonstrated residual lesion ≤T1a1 in both SH and MRH groups, whereas those with existing risk factor were confirmed positive for residual lesions ≤T1a1 [SH, 95.8% (46/48) vs. MRH, 75% (15/20)]. Only two cases in the SH group received adjuvant radiation for residual lesions >T1a1. On the contrary, 15 cases in the MRH group can receive smaller scale surgery than MRH. All cases were recurrence-free without any permanent treatment-related complication by the end of the study. Conclusion: Extrafascial simple hysterectomy may be recommended for clinical T1a1 cervical SCC regardless of the pathologic risk factor.

Background: Surgical staging using transperitoneal laparoscopic para-aortic lymph node dissection is an option for the pretreatment evaluation of locally advanced cervical cancer; however, its role for elderly patients (≥ 65 years) remains unclear. Methods: Elderly patients with stage IIB–IVA cervical squamous cell carcinoma who underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic para-aortic lymph node dissection (TLSPAD) before radiation therapy (RT) or concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) during 1993–2001 were included in this retrospective study. The control group included elderly patients with the same clinical conditions, except they did not undergo TLSPAD. Survival and major bowel complications were compared between these two groups. Results: The TLSPAD group consisted of 19 patients (median age: 72 years; range: 65–78 years), and the control group consisted of 37 patients (median age: 73 years; range: 65–86 years). In the TLSPAD group, para-aortic lymph node metastasis was noted in 15.8% of patients and another 15.8% were unable to have their lymph node laparoscopically retrieved. Although patients in the TLSPAD group demonstrated a higher rate of receiving CCRT than the control group, neither failure-free survival nor overall survival were statistically different between these two groups. Subsequent major bowel complications (e.g., fistula, bowel obstruction) were more frequent in the TLSPAD group (36.8%) than the control group (10.8%; p=0.032). Conclusion: In elderly patients with locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma, pretreatment TLSPAD might not improve survival and might be associated with an increased risk of subsequent major bowel complications. Extraperitoneal laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy might be a better method for the pretreatment surgical staging of elderly patients because it could potentially result in fewer bowel complications.

Background: Villoglandular adenocarcinoma (VGA) of the uterine cervix is a relatively rare subtype of endocervical adenocarcinomas that often occurs in early reproductive women. Methods: Clinical cases were retrospectively collected from the cancer registry systems at Mackay Memorial Hospital (Taipei, Taiwan). Clinical histories on the subjects were extracted directly from chart review of records of clinic visits. Results: The mean age of 12 subjects was 42 years, with 10 and 2 subjects clinically staged as IB1 (10 of 12) and IA2 (2 of 12), respectively, for the period between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2007. Eleven subjects had classical Type III radical hysterectomy with or without bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy plus bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy, and one received pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy plus postoperative adjuvant treatment of weekly cisplatin concurrent with radiotherapy. Only one subject had confirmed pelvic lymph nodes metastases. Nine subjects had pure histologic type and others had mixed histologic type of VGA. Only one subject had a recurrence but was still alive. Most subjects were long-term survivors (greater than 5 years) (10 of 12). Conclusion: In conclusion, this study confirms the young age of subjects with VGA and reemphasizes the difficulties in the diagnosis of VGA. Because the current management strategy renders good tumor control in young subjects with early-stage VGA, we would suggest that similar treatment should be considered for elder subjects with this rare category of cervical malignancy. Our experience shows that the primary management of subjects with early-stage VGA (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Stages IA2 to IIA1) is classical Type III radical hysterectomy plus salpingo-oophorectomy with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy at MMH. We hope our 12-case experience may contribute to the clinical decision making for subjects with this disease.

Objective: Endometrial cancer with hematogenous metastases can be treated with chemotherapy. We present a case of spontaneous pneumothorax that occurred when a solitary pulmonary endometrial metastatic lesion was treated with paclitaxel plus carboplatin. Case report: A 38-year-old female had stage II endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Solitary bilateral pulmonary metastases developed after primary treatment. Complete remission accompanied by a right spontaneous pneumothorax occurred during chemotherapy with paclitaxel plus carboplatin. Conclusion: Rapid shrinkage of a pulmonary space-occupying tumor sometimes causes rare but life-threatening spontaneous pneumothoraces. We report the first case of a spontaneous pneumothorax after using paclitaxel plus carboplatin in the treatment of endometrial cancer.

Objective: To investigate the objective response rate to and tolerance of biweekly Lipo-Dox (TTY Biopharm Co. Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan) at a dosage of 20 mg/m2 in previously treated patients with recurrent cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: This study was performed as a Simon's two-stage phase II clinical trial. Ten patients with recurrent cervical cancer were enrolled between April 2003 and December 2005 at the Mackay Memorial Hospital. Lipo-Dox (20 mg/m2 intravenous) diluted in 250 mL of 5% dextrose solution was administered at 2-weekly intervals. Results: The mean age of the patients was 51 ± 11.1 years. The mean number of cycles of Lipo-Dox injection was 4.6 (range, 1—12 cycles). Nine patients (90%) had disease progression. Only one patient (10%) achieved a partial response, and this was also the only patient who experienced WHO grade 2 palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, which led to treatment delay for 2 months. The median survival time was 2 months (range, 2—6 months). The majority of patients experienced grade 1 or 2 anemia (30%), leukopenia (20%) or thrombocytopenia (20%), and others exhibited symptoms of nausea and vomiting (30%). Conclusion: Salvage chemotherapy with Lipo-Dox at a dose of 20 mg/m2 administered at 2-weekly intervals produced limited responses in patients with recurrent cervical cancer. This trial will not proceed to the second stage. These results may discourage the management of recurrent cervical cancer with single-agent Lipo-Dox in future clinical trials.

Objective: Peritoneal tuberculosis (TB) is a fatal disease if not promptly diagnosed. We present a case of unexplained ascites with miliary peritoneal TB and a review of the literature. Case Report: A 56-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of severe abdominal fullness for 20 days. Computed tomography scans of the abdomen showed massive ascites and a huge intrapelvic mass mimicking an ovarian dermoid cyst. Laboratory examinations revealed an elevated serum cancer antigen 125 level of 1,132.9 IU/mL and normal chest roentgenographic findings. About 5 L of ascitic fluid and many superficial whitish miliary deposits on the intra-abdominal and pelvic surfaces were found during exploratory laparotomy. A right ovarian cystic mass measuring 15 × 14 × 10 cm in size was noted and removed. Pathologic studies of the cyst revealed a mature cystic teratoma, and all the specimens from the peritoneum and the ovarian surface had chronic granulomatous inflammation with central caseous necrosis compatible with TB. She received postoperative anti-TB chemotherapy and was doing well 5 months after surgery. Conclusion: Tuberculous peritonitis is not easy to diagnose. We suggest that tuberculous peritonitis associated with ovarian teratoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of peritoneal carcinomatosis.

Objective: We present a rare case of loin subcutaneous epithelioid sarcoma originating from the multiple metastases of a uterine leiomyosarcoma. Case Report: A 54-year-old postmenopausal woman, gravida 6, para 6, presented to the general surgery outpatient department (OPD). Loin mass excisional surgery was performed on August 6, 2002, and she was diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma. Sharp intermittent lower abdominal pain, low grade fever and back pain were noted on the fifth day after this surgery. She was transferred to the gynecology OPD. Laparotomy, on August 26, 2002, found an enlarged uterus with multiple nodules on the liver surface, mesentery, small intestine surface, omentum and sub-diaphragm. Total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed because uterine fibroid was the most suspicious originating site of these metastatic lesions. After laparotomy, the abdominal distension and pain continued with little improvement. She died on September 17, 2002, as a result of multiple metastases of leiomyosarcoma in both lung fields and respiratory failure. Conclusion: The abrupt appearance of skin or subcutaneous nodules should prompt the clinician to consider the possibility of metastatic disease, even in patients with no known history of malignant neoplasms. Uterine leiomyosarcomas are rarely diagnosed preoperatively, and the prognosis of uterine sarcoma is notorious for its difficult determination. The frequent development of distant metastases is the main reason for the poor survival observed in uterine sarcoma compared with other uterine malignancies.

Objective: We present an unusual case of maternal death following medical treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) in late gestation. Case Report: A 30-year-old woman, gravida 1, para 0, came to the outpatient clinic of our obstetrics and gynecology department at 35 weeks of gestation. She had suffered from palpitation and shortness of breath that lasted 3 days. Electrocardiographic examination revealed PSVT. Although intravenous administration of verapamil (5 mg) and adenosine (36 mg) effectively prevented the relapse of PSVT, the patient lost consciousness 30 minutes after her last dose of adenosine with sudden-onset convulsions. Despite immediate administration of advanced cardiac life support, she showed no signs of improvement and died. Conclusion: PSVT in late gestation can be associated with maternal death even following conversion to sinus rhythm using medical treatment. Clinical use of adenosine for PSVT should alert the clinician to the potential risk of administering a high dose of adenosine to a pregnant woman, which can lead to maternal mortality in late gestation. Administration of a high dose of adenosine was, in our opinion, partially responsible for the maternal death and intrauterine fetal demise in this case.

Objective: We present a case of bladder calculus formation and recurrent urinary stress incontinence following Stamey's operation. Case Report: A 59-year-old woman had stress urinary incontinence and underwent Stamey's operation (needle suspension of the bladder neck). However, there was no significant postoperative improvement. Ten years later, a bladder calculus and a non-absorbable suture stitch were found incidentally during cystocopy prior to surgical tension-free vaginal taping. The calculus and the suture stitch were removed during the procedure. The patient's urinary incontinence improved significantly and she had no further events after discharge. Conclusion: The present report demonstrates that recurrent urinary stress incontinence may be associated with injury to the lower urinary tract during anti-incontinence surgery.

Objective: The Cancer Genome Atlas study revealed an association between copy-number high (p53 abnormal) genetic mutation and poor prognosis in endometrial cancer in 2013. This retrospective study investigated outcomes in patients with abnormal p53 expression and stage I, low-grade endometrial endometrioid carcinoma (EEC). Methods: We enrolled women with stage I, grade 1 or 2 EEC who received comprehensive staging and adjuvant therapy between January 2019 and December 2022 at MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Pathologists interpreted immunohistochemistry stains of cancerous tissues to detect p53 mutation. We compared recurrence, survival, progressionfree survival, and overall survival between p53 abnormal and p53 normal groups. Results: Of the 115 patients included, 26 had pathologically confirmed abnormal p53 expression. Of these 26 patients, five (19.2%) experienced recurrence, and two died due to disease progression. By contrast, no patients in the normal p53 group experienced disease recurrence or died due to disease progression. Significant intergroup differences were discovered in recurrent disease status (19.4% vs. 0%, p<0.001), mortality (7.7% vs. 0%, p<0.001), and progression-free survival (p<0.001). The overall survival (p=0.055) also showed powerful worse trend. Conclusion: For patients with stage I, low-grade EEC, abnormal p53 expression may be used as an indicator of poor prognosis. Therefore, we suggest considering aggressive adjuvant therapies for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 8th Biennial Meeting of the Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology took place in Taipei, Taiwan in December 2023. The meeting aimed to advance the study, prevention, and treatment of gynecological cancer in Asia through scientific exchange, collaboration, and education. The event featured presentations on cutting-edge research and high-technology practices related to gynecological cancer. Notably, studies presented at the meeting showed that durvalumab plus carboplatin/paclitaxel followed by maintenance durvalumab improved survival rates in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, and carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab with or without olaparib had a significant benefit in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. The meeting also included symposia on various topics related to gynecologic oncology and featured social events such as a gala dinner and a laparoscopic surgery workshop. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: Choice of hysterectomy and adjuvant treatment for International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2009 stage II endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) is still controversial. Aims of this study were to evaluate survival benefits and adverse effects of different hysterectomies with or without adjuvant radiotherapy (RT), and to identify prognostic factors. Methods: The patients at 14 member hospitals of the Taiwanese Gynecologic Oncology Group from 1992 to 2013 were retrospectively investigated. Patients were divided into simple hysterectomy (SH) alone, SH with RT, radical hysterectomy (RH) alone, and RH with RT groups. Endpoints were recurrence-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), adverse effects and prognostic factors for survival. Results: Total of 246 patients were enrolled. The 5-year RFS, OS, DSS and recurrence rates for the entire cohort were 89.5%, 94.3%, 96.2% and 10.2%, respectively. Patients receiving RH had more adverse effects including blood loss (p<0.001), recurrent urinary tract infections (p=0.013), and leg lymphedema (p=0.038). Age over 50-year (HR=9.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-70.9) and grade 3 histology (HR=7.28; 95% CI, 1.45-36.6) were independent predictors of OS. Grade 3 histology was an independent predictor of RFS (HR=5.13; 95% CI, 1.38-19.1) and DSS (HR=5.97; 95% CI, 1.06-58.7). Patients receiving adjuvant RT had lower locoregional recurrence (p=0.046), but no impact on survival. Conclusion: Different treatment modalities yield similar survival outcomes. Patients receiving SH with RT had lower locoregional recurrent with acceptable morbidity. Age and tumor grading remained significant predictors for survival among patients with FIGO 2009 stage II EEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]