Leiomyosarcoma in a series of hysterectomies performed for presumed leiomyomas

Article Abstract:

Leiomyoma uteri (uterine fibroid) is a common noncancerous tumor of the muscle layer of the uterus. The symptoms of leiomyoma include uterine bleeding, abdominal pain, pressure, or painful menstruation. Similar symptoms occur with leiomyosarcoma, an uncommon type of cancerous tumor. Since most tumors are benign, surgical removal of a leiomyoma is generally delayed until the tumors change in size and character. A diagnosis of the more insidious leiomyosarcoma can be obscured by unreliable diagnostic methods. The frequency of leiomyosarcoma was established among 1,432 women having a pre-operative diagnosis of a benign leiomyoma. Most hysterectomies were performed in women between 40 and 60 years of age. Only eight patients had pre-operative biopsies, three of whom had a diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma. There were seven diagnoses of leiomyosarcoma among the women thought to have benign disease (0.49 percent). Endometrial biopsies, samples of the cells lining the uterus, did not detect cancer in any of the seven women. The cancerous lesion was suspected during surgery in only three patients. Abnormal uterine bleeding was present in seven of the ten patients with a diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma. It is estimated that women between 41 and 50 years of age with a presumed leiomyoma have a 1 in 112 chance of the tumor being cancerous. Although abandonment of conservative treatment is not recommended, women with symptoms should be informed about the cancer potential of begin uterine lesions. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Leiomyosarcoma, Uterine tumors

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Diagnostic and therapeutic curettage in gestational trophoblastic disease

Article Abstract:

Gestational trophoblastic disease is a type of cancer derived from early fetal cells. Symptoms included bleeding, increased amounts of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone in the blood, and a foul-smelling discharge. Trophoblastic disease can develop from a hydatiform molar pregnancy (an abnormal pregnancy developing a grape-like tumor), from a normal pregnancy, or after an incomplete abortion. A sample of tissue removed during uterine curettage, the scraping of the lining of the uterus, is used to diagnose and treat the disease. The advantages and disadvantages of repeated uterine curettages were evaluated. Uterine curettage was performed in 37 patients with gestational trophoblastic disease. Trophoblastic tissue was obtained in 22 patients (59 percent). In three patients (8.1 percent) the procedure was responsible for perforating the uterine wall. Twenty-eight patients who had curettage were thought not to have metastatic disease (spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body), while six patients had curettage as part of the assessment for suspected metastatic disease. It is concluded that only four out of the 20 women (20 percent) with nonmetastatic trophoblastic disease benefited from the curettage procedure. Based on these results, uterine curettage did not offer any therapeutic benefits in women with postmolar gestational trophoblastic disease. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Care and treatment, Complications and side effects, Pregnancy, Molar, Molar pregnancy, Trophoblastic tumors, Curettage

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Laparoscopic staging in patients with incompletely staged cancers of the uterus, ovary, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneum: A gynecologic oncology group (GOG) study

Article Abstract:

A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of laparoscopically staging in patients with incomplete stages of cancers of the uterus, ovary, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneum, and to evaluate the related effects. It was found that laparoscopic staging could be conducted at intervals for selected patients with gynecological malignancies.

United States, Usage, Cancer, Laparoscopy

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