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Introduction: Gynecologic and breast cancers share several risk factors. Breast cancer risk assessment tools can identify those at elevated risk and allow for enhanced breast surveillance and chemoprevention, however such tools are underutilized. We aim to evaluate the use of routine breast cancer risk assessment in a gynecologic oncology clinic., Methods: A patient-facing web-based tool was used to collect personal and family history and run four validated breast cancer risk assessment models (Tyrer-Cuzick (TC), Gail, BRCAPRO, and Claus) in a gynecologic oncology clinic. We evaluated completion of the tools and identification of patients at elevated risk for breast cancer using the four validated models., Results: A total of 99 patients were included in this analysis. The BRCAPRO model had the highest completion rate (84.8%), followed by the TC model (74.7%), Gail model (74.7%), and the Claus model (52.1%). The TC model identified 21.6% of patients completing the model as having ≥20% lifetime risk of breast cancer, compared to 6.8% by the Gail model, and 0% for both the BRCAPRO and Claus models. The Gail model identified 52.5% of patients as having ≥1.67% 5-year risk of breast cancer. Among patients identified as high-risk for breast cancer and eligible for screening, 9/9 (100%) were referred to a high-risk breast clinic., Conclusion: Among patients that completed the TC breast cancer risk assessment in a gynecologic oncology clinic, approximately 1 in 5 were identified to be at significantly elevated lifetime risk for breast cancer. The gynecologic oncologist's office might offer a convenient and feasible setting to incorporate this risk assessment into routine patient care, as gynecologic oncologists often have long-term patient relationships and participate in survivorship care., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To examine hospital-based specialist palliative care (SPC) utilisation among patients with gynaecological cancer, including temporal trends, predictors and associations with high-intensity end-of-life care., Methods: We conducted a nationwide registry-based study for all patients dying from gynaecological cancer in Denmark during 2010-2016. We estimated the proportions of patients receiving SPC by year of death and used regression analyses to examine predictors of SPC utilisation. Use of high-intensity end-of-life care according to SPC utilisation was compared by regression analyses adjusting for type of gynaecological cancer, year of death, age, comorbidities, residential region, marital/cohabitation status, income level and migrant status., Results: Among 4502 patients dying from gynaecological cancer, the proportion of patients receiving SPC increased from 24.2% in 2010 to 50.7% in 2016. Young age, three or more comorbidities, residence outside the Capital Region and being immigrant/descendant were associated with increased SPC utilisation, whereas income, cancer type and stage were not. SPC was associated with lower high-intensity end-of-life care utilisation. Particularly, when compared with patients not receiving SPC, patients who accessed SPC >30 days before death had 88% lower risk of intensive care unit admissions within 30 days before death (adjusted relative risk: 0.12 (95% CI: 0.06; 0.24)) and 96% lower risk of surgery within 14 days before death (adjusted relative risk: 0.04 (95% CI: 0.01; 0.31))., Conclusions: Among patients dying from gynaecological cancer, SPC utilisation increased over time and age, comorbidities, residential region and migrant status were associated with access to SPC. Furthermore, SPC was associated with lower use of high-intensity end-of-life care., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze morbidity and survival after pelvic exenteration for gynecologic malignancies and evaluate prognostic factors influencing postoperative outcome., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent a pelvic exenteration at the departments of gynecologic oncology of three tertiary care centers in the Netherlands, the Leiden University Medical Centre, the Amsterdam University Medical Centre, and the Netherlands Cancer Institute, during a 20-year period. We determined postoperative morbidity, 2- and 5-year overall survival (OS) and 2- and 5-year progression free survival (PFS), and investigated parameters influencing these outcomes., Results: A total of 90 patients were included. The most common primary tumor was cervical cancer (n = 39, 43.3%). We observed at least one complication in 83 patients (92%). Major complications were seen in 55 patients (61%). Irradiated patients had a higher risk of developing a major complication. Sixty-two (68.9%) required ≥1 readmission. Re-operation was required in 40 patients (44.4%). Median OS was 25 months and median PFS was 14 months. The 2-year OS rate was 51.1% and the 2-year PFS rate was 41.5%. Tumor size, resection margins and pelvic sidewall involvement had a negative impact on OS (HR = 2.159, HR = 2.376, and HR = 1.200, respectively). Positive resection margins and pelvic sidewall involvement resulted in decreased PFS (HR = 2.567 and HR = 3.969, respectively)., Conclusion: Postoperative complications after pelvic exenteration for gynecologic malignancies are common, especially in irradiated patients. In this study, a 2-year OS rate of 51.1% was observed. Positive resections margins, tumor size, and pelvic sidewall involvement were related to poor survival outcomes. Adequate selection of patients who will benefit from pelvic exenteration is important., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare and there is no financial interest to report. We certify that the submission is original work and is not under review at any other publication., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The real-world management of patients with non-BRCA, homologous recombination repair pathway variants with increased or uncertain risks of ovarian cancer is unknown. The objective was to determine the adoption of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) for carriers of variants with increased or uncertain risks of ovarian cancer beyond BRCA., Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients at three hospitals with non-BRCA, homologous recombination repair pathway variants with increased risk (BRIP1, RAD51C, RAD51D) and uncertain risk (ATM, BARD1, NBN, PALB2) of ovarian cancer. Outcomes of interest were adoption of RRSO and factors associated with adoption of RRSO. Wilcoxon rank-sum, chi-square, and logistic regression were performed with p < 0.05., Results: Of 318 patients, 76 (24%) had pathogenic variants with increased risks of ovarian cancer (BRIP1, 45; RAD51C, 20; RAD51D, 11), and 242 (76%) had variants with uncertain risks of ovarian cancer (ATM, 145; PALB2, 69; NBN, 23; BARD1, 5). Of 64 patients eligible for RRSO by National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) criteria or family history, 31 (48%) underwent RRSO. Among eligible patients who did not undergo RRSO, 24 (73%) were not referred for gynecologic oncology consultation. Older age at testing (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.13) and referral to gynecologic oncology (aOR 33.48, CI 8.10-138.39) were associated with increased adoption of RRSO when adjusting for personal and family history of breast and ovarian cancer., Conclusion: Half of RRSO-eligible patients by NCCN criteria beyond BRCA did not undergo RRSO. Opportunities exist for improving education to increase referrals to facilitate RRSO for these patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Bhavana Pothuri reports grants, personal fees and non-financial support outside the submitted work; institutional PI for industry-sponsored trials from Tesaro/GSK, AstraZeneca, Merck, Genetech/Roche, Celsion, Karyopharm, Mersana, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Toray, Imab, Sutro, SeaGen and Clovis Oncology. Compensated advisory boards include Tesaro/GSK, AstraZeneca, Lily, Mersana, Onconova, Merck, Clovis Oncology, Eisai, Toray, Sutro, Deciphera, Imab, SeaGen, and GOG Foundation., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: We assessed potential years of life lost (PYLL) in women secondary to gynecologic cancers (cervical, uterine, ovarian, vaginal, vulvar, and other) in the United States from 1975 to 2017 using SEER database. We also highlight racial disparities and economic costs of mortality from gynecologic malignancies., Methods: PYLL up to and including age 75 years were calculated [75 - (age at diagnosis + overall survival)] after stratifying for tumor site. Subgroup comparison was done using nonparametric method Kruskal-Wallis H with post-hoc analysis. Linear regression model was used to calculate every five-year incremental trends. Productivity losses were calculated using mortality data multiplied by age-adjusted estimated total lifetime productivity., Results: Total 304,995 patients were included with 1,472,152.67 PYLL from 1975 to 2017. Median PYLL for cervical cancer (12.58 years) was higher than other gynecologic malignancies (0.83, 6.00, 0.67 and - 0.25 years respectively for uterine, ovarian, vaginal and vulvar cancers). The median PYLL for Non-Hispanic White (NHW) population was lower than women from other racial groups for uterine, ovarian and vulvar cancers. From 1975 to 2017, median PYLL trend in the entire cohort showed a steady increment (p < 0.001, B1 = 1.65 years). Most rapid rise was noted in cervical cancer (p < 0.001, B1 = 2.68 years) and Hispanic population (p < 0.001, B1 = 1.92). Total productivity loss was $79 billion during 1975-2017 with maximum loss seen in uterine cancer and NHW population., Conclusion: Ours is the first study to analyze PYLL in gynecologic malignancies and estimate productivity losses due to premature deaths. Data shows a clear trend pointing towards racial and ethnic disparities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Disclosures for author Abhishek Kumar: Stock investment in ABBV, ACADia Pharma, ADMA, Biologics, AGNEUS, AIKIDO, AMGEN, AVEO Pharma, Astrazeneca, Biotelemetry inc, Bristol Meyer, Bio Path holdings, BeyondSpring Inc., Cara Therapeutics, ChemBio Dagnostics, Contrafect Corp, Cardiff Oncology, CRISPR Therapeutics, CVS Health, Precision Biosciences, EDITAS Medicine Inc., Five Prime Therapeutics, Globus Medicine Inc., IDEXX Laboratories, Iovance Biosciences, Johnson and Johnson, ELiLilly, Northweast Bio, PFIZER, POSEIDA Therapeutics, PTC therapeutics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals iNc, Viking Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Other authors do not have any disclosures., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The goal of this study was to compare function, quality of life, body image and distress levels between gynecologic cancer survivors with and without lymphedema symptoms as well as to determine how many individuals received rehabilitation treatment following treatment for gynecological malignancy., Methods: This prospective longitudinal cohort study sought to examine long-term physical and psychosocial outcomes among gynecologic cancer survivors., Results: Participants in the symptomatic group reported lower quality of life, lower function scores, and greater cancer-related, with greater rates of clinically significant levels of distress. These results remained largely consistent in multivariable models., Conclusions: We found lower extremity lymphedema to be associated with lower quality of life, lower limb function, greater distress, and negative body image., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None of the authors have any conflicts of interest pertinent to this manuscript., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Financial toxicity describes the adverse impact patients experience from the monetary and time costs of cancer care. The financial burden patients experience comes from substantially increased out-of-pocket spending that often occurs concurrent with reduced income due to sick leave from work. Financial toxicity is common affecting approximately half of patients with a gynecological cancer depending on the validated instrument used for measurement. Financial toxicity is experienced by patients in three domains: economic hardship affecting patients' material conditions (i.e., medical debt), psychological response (i.e., distress), and health-related coping behaviors that patients adopt (i.e., foregoing care due to costs). Higher financial toxicity among cancer patients has been associated with decreased quality of life, impaired adherence to recommended care, and worse overall survival. In this review, we describe the current literature on financial toxicity, including how it can be assessed with validated tools, the downstream impact on patients, risk factors, and employment concerns of survivors. Whenever possible, we highlight data from research featuring patients with gynecologic cancer specifically. We also review studies with interventions aimed to mitigate financial toxicity and offer the reader real world examples of interventions currently being used. Lastly, we provide an overview of health policy developments relevant to financial toxicity and advocate for innovation in the development and implementation of strategies to decrease the financial toxicity patients experience following a diagnosis of gynecologic cancer., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest MIL reports the following disclosures unrelated to this work: grant funding from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and National Cancer Institute (U24AT011310). LAM reports the following disclosures unrelated to this work: grant funding from the National Cancer Institute (K07CA201013) and from AstraZeneca, consulting fees from Bristol Myers Squibb as a research participant, advisory board for GSK, leadership on National Cancer Institue PDQ Cancer Screening and Prevention Board, and stock in Invitae, Bristol Myers Squibb, Denali, and Johnson & Johnson. All other authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The landscape of uterine sarcomas is becoming increasingly complex with the description of new entities associated with recurrent molecular alterations. Uterine sarcomas, as well as soft tissue sarcomas, can be distinguished into complex genomic sarcomas and simple genomic sarcomas. Leiomyosarcoma and pleomorphic type undifferentiated uterine sarcoma belong to the first group. Low-grade and high-grade endometrial stromal sarcomas, NTRK, COL1A1::PDGFB, ALK, RET, ROS1 associated sarcomas, and SMARCA4 deficient uterine sarcoma belong to the second group. Leiomyosarcoma is the most common uterine sarcoma followed by endometrial stromal sarcomas. Three different histologic subtypes of leiomyosarcomas are recognized with distinct diagnostic criteria and different clinical outcomes, the myxoid and epithelioid leiomyosarcomas being even more aggressive than the fusiform type. The distinction between low-grade and high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma is based first on morphology and immunohistochemistry. The detection of fusion transcripts helps in the diagnosis. Definitely recognized as a separate entity, uterine PEComa is a rare tumor whose diagnostic criteria are being recently defined. Uterine PEComa has a specific algorithm stratifying the tumors into uncertain malignant potential and malignant tumors. Embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas of the uterine cervix are not restricted to children but can also be observed in adult women and are almost always DICER1 mutated, unlike embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the vagina which are DICER1wild-type, and adenosarcoma which can be DICER1 mutated but with less frequency. As sarcomas associated with fusion transcripts involving the NTRK, ALK, COL1A1::PDGFB genes can benefit from targeted therapy, systematic detection are now relevant especially for patients with high risk of relapse or in recurrent setting. The integration of molecular data with dedicated expert pathology review for histology and clinical data allows better identification of uterine sarcomas in order to better treat them., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Mounting evidence has demonstrated that a myriad of developmental signaling pathways, such as the Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog and Hippo, are frequently deregulated and play a critical role in regulating cancer stem cell (CSC) activity in human cancers, including gynecologic malignancies. In this review article, we describe an overview of various signaling pathways in human cancers. We further discuss the developmental roles how these pathways regulate CSCs from experimental evidences in gynecologic cancers. Moreover, we mention several compounds targeting CSCs in gynecologic cancers to enhance the treatment outcomes. Therefore, these signaling pathways might be the potential targets for developing targeted therapy in gynecologic cancers., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no declarations of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Dr. Holtz reports personal fees from Vermilion Inc., other from Earlybird Medical, other from ZSX Medical LLC, outside the submitted work. Dr. Shahin reports grants and other from GSK/Tesaro, grants and other from Astra Zeneca, grants and other from Merck, outside the submitted work.

Objective: Trillions of dollars pass to physicians from industry-related businesses annually, leading to many opportunities for financial conflicts of interest. The Open Payments Database (OPD) was created to ensure transparency. We describe the industry relationships as reported in the OPD for presenters at the 2019 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting and evaluate concordance between author disclosures of their financial interests and information provided by the OPD., Methods: This is an observational, cross-sectional study. Disclosure data were collected from authors with oral and featured abstract presentations in the 2019 SGO annual conference. These disclosures were compared to data available for each author in the 2018 OPD, which included the amount and nature of industry payments., Results: We examined the disclosures of 301 authors who met inclusion criteria. Of 161 authors who had disclosure statements on their presentations,147 reported "no disclosures," and 14 disclosed industry relationships. The remaining 140 did not list any disclosure information. Sixty percent (184/301) of authors had industry relationships in the 2018 OPD, including 173 of 287 (60.3%) of authors who either reported no disclosures or did not have disclosure data available in their presentations. These transactions totaled over 43 million USD from 122 different companies, with most payments (46%) categorized as "Research or Associated Research." Accurate disclosure reporting was associated with receiving higher payments or research payments, and being a presenting author., Conclusions: Most authors at the SGO annual conference did not correctly disclose their industry relationships when compared with their entries in the OPD., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest ELB reports grant payments from the National Institutes of Health (K12 HD050121-12), GOG Foundation and Eli Lilly, and has received a food and beverage payment from Intuitive. EJT served as a consultant for Auris Health, Inc. and has received miscellaneous food and beverage payments from Intuitive, Covidien, Ethicon, Davol, Merck, and AstraZeneca. These relationships do not present a conflict of interest with the current work. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: To describe the transition from a mentee to mentor role in a cohort of academic gynecologic oncologists by studying the evolution of authorship placement in peer reviewed publications by current gynecologic oncology (GO) fellowship directors., Methods: Current GO fellowship directors were identified from the ACGME website. A Pubmed search identified all publications by all listed fellowship directors. Number of publications, and order of authorship were counted by years since medical school graduation. Milestones representing likely career transition points were developed and tracked. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the individuals and associated institutions. Time to event curves were compared using the Kaplan Meier method., Results: The study cohort comprised 58 GO fellowship program directors. The median time since medical school graduation was 22 years. Eight unique milestones reflecting the relative frequencies of authorship placement were studied. The median time to accomplishing these milestones ranged from 6 to 18 years. The timing of milestone attainment suggests a stepwise progression of events and was associated with both individual and institutional factors., Conclusions: In this cohort of 58 fellowship directors, a roadmap to mentorship was identified, that includes several measurable milestones, and representative times to attain each. Further analyses identified a set of factors associated with the rate of progression. We hope these findings can inform the evolution of mentorship in gynecologic oncology. It is possible that initiatives focused on mentorship training might include milestone tracking to facilitate development., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors do not have any conflicts of interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Patients are increasingly using online materials to learn about gynecologic cancer. Providers can refer patients to online educational materials produced by a number of different major medical organizations and pharmacology companies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Medical Association (AMA) recommend that patient educational materials (PEMs) are written between a sixth and eighth grade reading level. In this study, we assess the readability of online PEMs published by major medical organizations and industry partners., Methods: Websites from twelve websites providing educational materials for gynecologic oncology patients were surveyed. Online PEMs were identified and analyzed using seven validated readability indices. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) post-hoc analysis were performed to detect differences in readability between publishers., Results: Two-hundred and sixty PEMs were included in this analysis. Overall, PEMs were written at a mean 11th±0.6 grade reading level. Only 6.5% of articles were written at the AMA/NIH recommended reading grade level of 6th to 8th grade or below. ANOVA demonstrated a significant difference in readability between publishing associations (p<0.01). PEMs from the Centers for Disease Control had a mean 9th±1.2 grade reading level and were significantly lower than all other organizations. PEMs from The Foundation for Women's Cancer had a mean 13th±1.8 grade reading level and were significantly higher than most other organizations. PEMs from pharmaceutical companies (mean readability=10.1±1.1, N=30) required the lowest reading grade level and were significantly more readable than those from governmental organizations (11.1±1.7, p<0.05) and nonprofit medical associations (12.4±1.7, p<0.01) in ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer post hoc analysis., Conclusions: Gynecologic oncology PEMs available from twelve major organization websites are written well above the recommended sixth to eighth grade reading difficulty level., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To analyze whole exome sequencing (WES) data on ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) in Korean patients via the technique of next generation sequencing (NGS). Genomic profiles were compared between endometriosis-associated OCCC (EMS-OCCC) and Non-EMS-OCCC., Methods: We used serum samples and cancer tissues, stored at the Seoul National University Hospital Human Biobank, that were initially collected from women diagnosed with OCCC between 2012 and 2016. In total, 15 patients were enrolled: 5 with pathologically confirmed EMS-OCCC and 10 with Non-EMS-OCCC. We performed NGS WES on 15 fresh frozen OCCC tissues and matched serum samples, enabling comprehensive genomic characterization of OCCC., Results: OCCC was characterized by complex genomic alterations, with a median of 178 exonic mutations (range, 111-25,798) and a median of 343 somatic copy number variations (range, 43-1,820) per tumor sample. In all, 54 somatic mutations were discovered across 14 genes, including PIK3CA (40%), ARID1A (40%), and KRAS (20%) in the 15 Korean OCCCs. Copy number gains in NTRK1 (33%), MYC (40%), and GNAS (47%) and copy number losses in TET2 (73%), TSC1 (67%), BRCA2 (60%), and SMAD4 (47%) were frequent. The significantly altered pathways were associated with proliferation and survival (including the PI3K/AKT, TP53, and ERBB2 pathways) in 87% of OCCCs and with chromatin remodeling in 47% of OCCCs. No significant differences in frequencies of genetic alterations were detected between EMS-OCCC and Non-EMS-OCCC groups., Conclusion: We successfully characterized the genomic landscape of 15 Korean patients with OCCC. We identified potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of this malignancy., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: The newest findings on literature utilization relevant to gynecologic oncology were published by Thomson Reuters during June 2013 as determinants of journal standing. Our objective was to assess the different metrics reported for relative impact and cost for journals relevant to gynecologic oncology., Methods: 55 journals were evaluated for Impact Factor (IF), 5 Year IF, Immediacy Index, Cited Half Life, Eigenfactor (EF) Score, Article Influence (AI) scores and subscription costs obtained from publisher information., Results: CA-A Cancer Journal for Clinicians had the highest IF (101.78) & AI (24.502). The top EF cancer-specific journals were the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research and Oncogene. Rankings for Gynecologic Oncology (409 articles, 18,243 citations) were IF = 3.929, 43/55, EF = 0.038, 28/55, and AI = 1.099, 44/55, all higher than the previous year. The IF improved from the 5 year IF in 31 journals, including Gynecologic Oncology, 29/31. Subscription costs for Gynecologic Oncology compared favorably to other journals., Conclusions: The high utilization of review information in CA-A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and Nature Review Cancer illustrated by the IF coupled with a relatively low number of articles and short cited half life indicates that they serve as a leading source of quoted cancer statistics (CA-A Cancer Journal for Clinicians). Rankings for Gynecologic Oncology and the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer have improved. Regardless of specialty size, the Impact Factor for Gynecologic Oncology is respectably strong. The decreased IF in 44% of the journals may reflect the international economy's effect on cancer research., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Up to one third of oncologists experience burnout. The objective was to determine correlates of work related stress in gynecologic oncologists (GOs)., Methods: Using an online tool, we surveyed 273 members of the International Gynecologic Cancer (IGCS) Society (60% from North America) to examine demographic, psychological and spiritual correlates of work related stress (WRS) and burnout. Measures of death anxiety (DA) and locus of control (LOC) were also administered., Results: WRS did not correlate with religion, religiosity, race, or gender, but did correlate with DA (r=0.23, p=0.0006). WRS was also associated with younger age (p=0.01) and fewer years out of training (p=0.0286), higher scores on LOC Chance (r=0.18, p=0.007), higher scores on Powerful Other (r=0.30, p<0.0001), and lower scores on LOC Internality (r=-0.30, p<0.0001)., Conclusion: Responses from younger and less experienced GOs, correlate with higher WRS scores especially if their LOC is weighted toward chance and powerful others. Responses of GO's with these two characteristics also correlate with higher DA scores and reports of difficulty talking about death., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The estrogen receptor content in metastases of gynecological tumors was analyzed with an immunocytochemical technique in material obtained by fine-needle aspiration. Eighteen patients with metastasis from ovarian (10 cases), endometrial (4 cases), and uterine cervical (4 cases) carcinomas were studied. Three metastases showed specific nuclear staining for estrogen receptors and they originated from primary tumors in the ovary, the cervix, and the endometrium. Thus needle aspirates can be used for cytomorphologic diagnosis as well as determination of estrogen receptors and their use has potential value when a decision must be made between hormonal therapy or chemotherapy in patients with generalized gynecological carcinomas.

Fifteen patients with pulmonary metastases from gynecologic cancers have been evaluated and treated surgically at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1943 to 1982. These women have had primary tumors involving the cervix (6), endometrium (3), and ovary (2) as well as uterine sarcomas (2) and choriocarcinomas (2). Two-year Kaplan-Meier survival for this group was 71%; the corresponding survival at 5 years was 36%. No hospital mortality was encountered. Patients with solitary lesions of less than 4 cm diameter appeared to have the most favorable prognosis in the group. A prolonged time to initial recurrence (latent period) of greater than 36 months was associated with improved survival and there was a 60% survival among patients with latent periods of 60 months or more. An aggressive approach to resection of pulmonary metastases in selected patients provides gratifying palliation for the majority of women and long-term cure in a significant minority.

Six patients had transperineal fine needle biopsy of a pelvic mass performed guided by transrectal ultrasound. Five patients following treatment for gynecological cancer with inconclusive gynecological palpation had a transrectal ultrasound examination performed because abdominal ultrasound did not disclose abnormality. One patient with low back pain had a pelvic mass disclosed with abdominal ultrasound and was referred to transrectal ultrasound for biopsy. In all cases a pelvic lesion was visualized with transrectal ultrasound and transperineal fine needle biopsy was performed. In five cases sufficient material for cytological as well as histological evaluation was obtained showing malignant disease. In one case only necrotic tissue was obtained and subsequent operation disclosed inflammatory changes. It is concluded that transrectal ultrasound combined with transperineal biopsy is a valuable diagnostic tool in the follow-up of patients treated for gynecological cancer.