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Background: Morbidity and mortality caused by cancer persist to be an important health problem world- wide and in the European Union member states as well. In Slovenia, most ovarian cancer cases are detected in advanced stages, hence a rather high mortality rate. Aims: The purpose of this research project is to analyze the primary cytoreduction in the patients with advanced ovarian cancer. The main objective of the project is to assess the use of lap- aroscopy in the prediction of optimal cytoreduction in these patients. Applicative research project ‘Estimation of survial in patients with advanced ovarian can- cer based on primary laparoscopical assessment of optimal cytoreduction’ (L3-2371) was approved and has been financed by the Slovene Research Agency and co-financed by the Ministry of Health of RS; Duration: May 1, 2009–April 30, 2012. Methods: The research project will consist of retrospective and prospective study. In all the patients with advanced ovarian cancer managed at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecol- ogy, University Medical Centre Ljubljana in the years 2003–2008, and in whom optimal primary cytoreduction was made using either laparoscopy or laparotomy, certain clinical and pathomorphological factors will be compared, and the effects of all analyzed factors on the outcome of treatment assessed. In the prospective study, we will aim at assessing the use of laparoscopy in the prediction of optimal cytoreduction in all newly detected cases using a laparoscopy-based score (Fagotti’s scoring system). Conclusions: The standard management of advanced ovarian cancer patients consists of primary surgical optimal and/or suboptimal cytoreduction followed by aggressive cytotoxic chemotherapy. In line with our experience and with that published most recently, laparoscopy seems to be a promising method with which we will attempt to most accurately assess the optimal cytoreduction in surgical treatment of ovarian cancer patients.

Background: Initial surgical debulking followed by a systemic chemotherapy is the standard treatment sequence for advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) treatment. The purpose of this article is to evaluate prognostic factors that impact the success of AOC treatment. Methods: All patients with AOC (FIGO stage III and IV) who were surgically treated at the Division of Gynaecology, University Medical Centre of Ljubljana, in the period from 2003 to 2008 and further received cytotoxic chemotherapy at the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana were included in this retrospective study. Women with advanced borderline ovarian cancer and patients who initially received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those whose adjuvant chemotherapy was not platinum-based were excluded from the analysis. Results: A total of 159 women were enrolled in the study, while data were analyzed for 116 patients. Their median age was 59 years (23–80 years) and did not have a significant influence on the treatment outcome. Clear-cell histological type of AOC was an important risk factor for a disease-free interval (DFI) (HR = 2.41, CI 95 % 0.9–5.9; p = 0.08) and overall survival (OS) (HR 4.045; 95.0 % CI 1.5–10.6; p = 0.003). Postoperative residual tumour larger than 2 cm represented a statistically independent risk factor for poor OS. Residual tumour in the upper abdomen did not represent a statistically significant risk factor either for DFI (HR = 1.93; CI 95 % 0.9–4.06; p = 0.08) or for OS (HR = 1.47; 95.0 % CI 0.5–3.8; p = 0.491). Median follow up time was 29.5 months, median DFI 18 months (95 % CI 16– 20) and median OS 32 months (95 % CI 22–42). 74 (63.8 %) patients died. Conclusion: Clear-cell histological type of AOC and residual tumour larger than 2 cm are the most important risk factors for early progress of the disease and poor OS. Hence improvement of surgical treatment is crucial for better treatment outcomes for patients with AOC. The latter can be achieved by an interdisciplinary surgical approach.

Background: The dogma that the total number of follicles and oocytes available for reproduction are determined at birth, and that one follicle and one oocyte are recruited from the existing pool to mature in each menstrual cycle still persists. There is an increasing experimental evidence that this might not be true. In the ovarian surface epithelium there might be nondifferentiated stem cells that might differentiate into oocytes also in adult life. In this research we aimed at isolating putative stem cells from the ovarian surface epithelium and at evaluating in vitro oogenesis in the ovarian cell culture in vitro in women without naturally present follicles and oocytes in their ovarian cortex – postmenopausal women and women with premature ovarian failure.Methods: Ovarian surface epithelium was scraped from the ovaries of 20 postmenopausal women and 5 women with premature ovarian failure. We tried to find putative stem cells in ovarian scraping and to confirm them by transcription markers Oct-4, Sox-2, and Nanog, and by surface antigen SSEA-4. Cell culture was set up by scraped cells in DMEM/F-12 medium with phenol red, which shows a weak estrogenic activity. Ovarian cell culture was cultured for 20 days in a CO2-incubator at 37 °C and 5 % CO2. Development of cells in the culture was followed and the presence of oocyte-like cells was evaluated by using different methods – evaluation of morphology, transcription markers, surface antigen markers, oocyte immunohistochemical markers, and flow cytometry after propidium iodide staining.Results: In all postmenopausal women and in 4 out of the 5 women with premature ovarian failure putative stem cells were isolated from the ovarian surface epithelium, which were positive for transcription markers of embryonic stem cells Oct-4, Sox-2, Nanog, and for surface antigen SSEA-4. In all these women ovarian cell culture was successfully established. In all cultures oocyte-like cells developed approximately on day 5 of culture, which were positive for transcription marker Oct-4 and immunohistological germ cell markers c-kit, Oct-4, ZP2, DAZL, and even meiotic marker SCP3. Marker SCP3 was expressed in oocyte-like cells developed in ovarian cell culture of postmenopausal women, but not in patients with premature ovarian failure. Flow cytometry after propidium iodide staining revealed a population of potentially haploid oocyte like cells in postmenopausal women. Stem cells developed also into some somatic cell types, including fibroblasts, neuron-, and mioblast-like cells. In patients with premature ovarian failure oocyte-like cells were developed only at the presence of autologous patient’s serum and mostly at the presence of heterologous follicular fluid serum, whereas they did not develop at the presence of fetal calf serum.Conclusions: First results are promising as they indicate the new insight into the physiology of the adult human ovary. In the ovarian surface epithelium putative stem cells with embryonic character are present, which can develop into the oocyte-like cells and other types of cells in vitro. Further research is required to understand better these new findings.

Background. Nowadays, endometrial cancer is the most frequent gynecologic malignancy with a relatively good prognosis. The prognosis and the quality of life of these patients can be improved considering the prognostic factors and more rational treatment.Methods. This retrograde analysis comprised 499 patients with endometrial cancer operated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and then irradiated at the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana in the period 1995–1999.Results. Most patients had stage I disease (81.4%), good prognostic histological type (endometroid and adenoacanthoma in 81.3%), well- and moderately differentiated tumors (86%) and early myometrial invasion (72.4%). In the observed period we performed radical hysterectomy »old« Wertheim (Piver II) in only 8.4% of cases, in all other cases simple vaginal or abdominal hysterectomy (in 46.9% with pelvic lymphadenectomy) was done. Adjuvant irradiation was administered to 70% of patients. The analysis of 3- and 5-year survival comprises only 466 patients. The overall 5-year survival was 85.8%, in stage I cases 88.1%. There were no significant differences in survival in stage I cases regarding the type of surgery. In stage I the most important adverse prognostic factors were poor differentiation, deep myometrial invasion and serous-papillary histologic type, whereas lymph node involvement was very rare (less than 1%).Conclusions. For the choice of appropriate surgical treatment of patients with endometrial cancer it is necessary to consider the prognostic factors. In this analysis a more radical surgical procedure did not improve the survival significantly. The usefulness of limphadenectomy in stage I remains open.

Background. Traditional surgical technique applied in the treatment of endometrial carcinoma is total abdominal hysterectomy combined with bilateral salpingooophorectomy. Laparoscopic surgical technique, providing the possibility of simultaneous hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy through the vagina, represents the alternative to laparotomy. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate periand postoperative parameters of both techniques, and the appropriateness of the number of removed nodes.Methods. This retrospective comparative analysis involved 36 patients (Group LAVH), who underwent laparoscopic surgical treatment for stage I endometrial carcinoma in the period 1995–2003, and 24 randomly chosen patients (Group TELA), in whom the same surgical procedures were performed using abdominal approach. The data for comparison of general clinical parameters, duration of surgery, blood loss, early and late postoperative complications, duration of stay at the intensive care unit and hospital stay, were collected from the operative and anesthesiology records. Histologic findings provided histopathomorphologic data on carcinoma and the number of removed nodes. The comparison of all parameters was evaluated using Student T-test for continuous variables, and Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney test for categorical variables.Results. General clinical parameters and the patient age were evenly distributed between the groups. The same applies for the distribution of mean blood loss and early postoperative complications. Two patients, treated laparoscopically, were re-admitted to hospital for pelvic abscess. The mean duration of stay at the intensive care unit was longer in the TELA group patients (3.3 ± 1.1) than in the LAVH group patients (2.1 ± 0.45) (F = 30.41; p < 0.0001). Also, most patients from the LAVH group were discharged from hospital on day 8 after surgery (8.47 ± 2.3 days), and on day 11 in the TELA group (11.7 ± 3.4 days) (F = 17.46; p < 0.0001). In the LAVH group mean 18 ± 6 nodes were removed, and in the TELA group 14 ± 8, the difference being statistically significant (p = 0.03).Conclusions. Although this analysis was retrospective, the obtained results confirm the findings of other authors regarding the advantages offered by the laparoscopic technique, the most important being hysterectomy combined with salpingo-oophorectomy performed through the vagina, quicker postoperative recovery and satisfactory surgical staging for stage I endometrial cancer.

Izhodišče: Ocena razširjenosti raka endometrija pred operaciji s slikovnimi metodami ni zanesljiva. Od ocene je odvisno, ali naj kirurško zdravljenje vključuje pelvično limfadenektomijo ali ne. Biopsija varovalne bezgavke lahko varno nadomesti radikalno pelvično limfadenektomijo pri bolnicah z nizkim in zmernim tveganjem za ponovitev bolezni. Metode: Od januarja 2016 do junija 2017 je bilo na Ginekološki kliniki v Ljubljani v pregled začetnih kliničnih rezultatov ob uvedbi biopsije v varovalni bezgavki v rutinsko klinično prakso vključenih 35 bolnic. Beležili smo zanesljivost histološke in ultrazvočne ocene pred operacijo ter stopnjo uspešne kirurške detekcije v varovalni bezgavki s cervikalno aplikacijo zelenila indocianin. Vsa odstranjena tkiva so bila poslana na histološko preiskavo z barvanjem po metodi hematoksilin in eozin (H&E). Rezultati: Enostranska uspešnost kirurške detekcije varovalne bezgavke je bila 85,7 % (75–93 %), obojestranska pa 80,0 % (63–92 %). Varovalna bezgavka je bila histološko pozitivna v dveh primerih. Ultrazvočna ocena invazije v miometrij je imela občutljivost 100 % (15,8–100 %) in specifičnost 78,9 % (54,4–93,9 %), ultrazvočna ocena invazije v stromo materničnega vratu pa le 33 % (0,8–90,6 %) občutljivosti in 94,4 % (72,7–99,8 %) specifičnosti. Ocena histološke stopnje diferenciacije je bila po operaciji višja (angl. upgrading) v 5,7 %, nižja (angl. downgrading) pa v 8,6 %. Zaključek: Odstranjevanje varovalne bezgavke omogoča individualnejši pristop k zdravljenju bolnic z rakom endometrija in varnejšo opustitev pelvične limfadenektomije pri bolnicah z nizkim in zmernim tveganjem za ponovitev bolezni. Za dokončno umestitev v smernice zdravljenja bodo v našem prostoru potrebne dodatne izkušnje glede izbire bolnic, sledenja kakovosti kirurške obravnave in nujna uvedba res poadrobnega histološkega pregleda – t. i. ultrastaginga (angl. ultrastaging) odstranjene varovalne bezgavke.

Rak materničnega vratu lahko prizadene ženske v rodnem obdobju. V stadiju IB1 je mogoče pri zdravljenju rakave bolezni ohraniti rodno funkcijo ženske z radikalno trahelektomijo in odstranitvijo medeničnih bezgavk.To je operacija, pri kateri se odstrani maternični vrat in paracervikalno tkivo (parametriji) v kombinaciji z odstranitvijo medeničnih bezgavk, telo maternice pa se ohrani. Predstavljamo primer 32-letne nulipare z rakom materničnega vratu stadija 1B1. Bolnica je bila zdravljena radikalno z ohranitvijo rodne funkcije in je po zdravljenju rodila donošenega otroka.