OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the pulmonary recruitment maneuver (PRM) at the end of the operation to decrease laparoscopy-induced abdominal or shoulder pain after gynecological oncologic surgery. METHODS: In total, 113 women undergoing laparoscopic surgery for malignant or premalignant gynecological lesions were assigned randomly to two groups: the PRM group (the patient was placed in the Trendelenburg position (30°) and the PRM, consisting of two manual pulmonary inflations to a maximum pressure of 40 cmH2O) (n=54) and the control group (n=52). Postoperative shoulder and abdominal pain was assessed 12, 24, and 48 hours later using a visual analog scale (0–10). In addition, the incidence of post-discharge nausea and vomiting was recorded until 48 hours after discharge. RESULTS: Postoperative shoulder pain at 12 and 24 hours was significantly less severe in the PRM group (2.2±0.5 and 2.0±0.4) than in the control group (4.0±0.5 and 3.9±0.4; both p < 0.001). The PRM significantly reduced the severity of upper abdominal pain at 12 and 24 h compared with the control group (3.1±0.4 and 2.9±0.4 vs. 5.9±0.5 and 4.9±0.5; both p < 0.001). The analgesic requirement during the postoperative period was similar in the two groups (control group, 78.8%; PRM group, 75.9%; p=0.719). CONCLUSION: The PRM effectively and safely reduced postoperative shoulder and upper abdominal pain levels in patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological oncologic surgery. Trial registry at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01940042.
Abdominal Pain ; Female ; Head-Down Tilt ; Humans ; Incidence ; Laparoscopy ; Nausea ; Postoperative Period ; Prospective Studies* ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Pain ; Visual Analog Scale ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of lymph node ratio (LNR) in patients with stage III ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective department database review was performed to identify patients with ovarian HGSC at 6 gynecologic oncology centers in Turkey. A total of 229 node-positive women with stage III ovarian HGSC who had undergone maximal or optimal cytoreductive surgery plus systematic lymphadenectomy followed by paclitaxel plus carboplatin combination chemotherapy were included. LNR, defined as the percentage of positive lymph nodes (LNs) to total nodes recovered, was stratified into 3 groups: LNR1 (<10%), LNR2 (10%≤LNR<50%), and LNR3 (≥50%). Kaplan-Meier method was used to generate survival data. Factors predictive of outcome were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Thirty-one women (13.6%) were classified as stage IIIA1, 15 (6.6%) as stage IIIB, and 183 (79.9%) as stage IIIC. The median age at diagnosis was 56 (range, 18–87), and the median duration of follow-up was 36 months (range, 1–120 months). For the entire cohort, the 5-year overall survival (OS) was 52.8%. An increased LNR was associated with a decrease in 5-year OS from 65.1% for LNR1, 42.5% for LNR2, and 25.6% for LNR3, respectively (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, women with LNR≥0.50 were 2.7 times more likely to die of their tumors (hazard ratio [HR]=2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.42–5.18; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: LNR seems to be an independent prognostic factor for decreased OS in stage III ovarian HGSC patients.
Carboplatin ; Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Methods ; Multivariate Analysis ; Paclitaxel ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Turkey

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prognosis of surgically-staged non-invasive uterine clear cell carcinoma (UCCC), and to determine the role of adjuvant therapy. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective department database review was performed to identify patients with UCCC who underwent surgical treatment between 1997 and 2016 at 8 Gynecologic Oncology Centers. Demographic, clinicopathological, and survival data were collected. RESULTS: A total of 232 women with UCCC were identified. Of these, 53 (22.8%) had surgically-staged non-invasive UCCC. Twelve patients (22.6%) were upstaged at surgical assessment, including a 5.6% rate of lymphatic dissemination (3/53). Of those, 1 had stage IIIA, 1 had stage IIIC1, 1 had stage IIIC2, and 9 had stage IVB disease. Of the 9 women with stage IVB disease, 5 had isolated omental involvement indicating omentum as the most common metastatic site. UCCC limited only to the endometrium with no extra-uterine disease was confirmed in 41 women (73.3%) after surgical staging. Of those, 13 women (32%) were observed without adjuvant treatment whereas 28 patients (68%) underwent adjuvant therapy. The 5-year disease-free survival rates for patients with and without adjuvant treatment were 100.0% vs. 74.1%, respectively (p=0.060). CONCLUSION: Extra-uterine disease may occur in the absence of myometrial invasion (MMI), therefore comprehensive surgical staging including omentectomy should be the standard of care for women with UCCC regardless of the depth of MMI. Larger cohorts are needed in order to clarify the necessity of adjuvant treatment for women with UCCC truly confined to the endometrium.
Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cohort Studies ; Disease-Free Survival ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Omentum ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Standard of Care ; Uterine Diseases

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors influencing overall survival following recurrence (OSFR) in women with low-risk endometrial cancer (EC) treated with surgery alone. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective department database review was performed to identify patients with recurrent “low-risk EC” (patients having less than 50% myometrial invasion [MMI] with grade 1 or 2 endometrioid EC) at 10 gynecologic oncology centers in Turkey. Demographic, clinicopathological, and survival data were collected. RESULTS: We identified 67 patients who developed recurrence of their EC after initially being diagnosed and treated for low-risk EC. For the entire study cohort, the median time to recurrence (TTR) was 23 months (95% confidence interval [CI]=11.5–34.5; standard error [SE]=5.8) and the median OSFR was 59 months (95% CI=12.7–105.2; SE=23.5). We observed 32 (47.8%) isolated vaginal recurrences, 6 (9%) nodal failures, 19 (28.4%) peritoneal failures, and 10 (14.9%) hematogenous disseminations. Overall, 45 relapses (67.2%) were loco-regional whereas 22 (32.8%) were extrapelvic. According to the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Trial-99, 7 (10.4%) out of 67 women with recurrent low-risk EC were qualified as high-intermediate risk (HIR). The 5-year OSFR rate was significantly higher for patients with TTR ≥36 months compared to those with TTR <36 months (74.3% compared to 33%, p=0.001). On multivariate analysis for OSFR, TTR <36 months (hazard ratio [HR]=8.46; 95% CI=1.65–43.36; p=0.010) and presence of HIR criteria (HR=4.62; 95% CI=1.69–12.58; p=0.003) were significant predictors. CONCLUSION: Low-risk EC patients recurring earlier than 36 months and those carrying HIR criteria seem more likely to succumb to their tumors after recurrence.
Cohort Studies ; Endometrial Neoplasms* ; Female ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Recurrence* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Turkey