Endometriosis is a gynecological condition caused by the development of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Naturally, it commonly occurs at locations such as the ovaries and pelvic peritoneum. However, ectopic endometrial tissue may be discovered outside of the typical sites, suggesting the possibility of iatrogenic seeding after gynecological operations. Based on this hypothesis, we developed a study aiming to establish the root cause of atypical implantation of endometrial foci, as the main end point, and to determine diagnostic features and risk factors for this condition, as a secondary target. The research followed a retrospective design, including a total of 126 patients with endometriosis who met the inclusion criteria. A group of 71 patients with a history of c-section was compared with a control group of patients with endometriosis and no history of c-section. Endometriosis that developed inside or in close proximity to surgical incisions of asymptomatic patients before surgical intervention was defined as iatrogenic endometriosis. Compared with patients who did not have a c-section, the c-section group had significantly more minimally invasive pelvic procedures and multiple adhesions and endometriosis foci at intraoperative look (52.1% vs. 34.5%, respectively 52.1% vs. 29.1%). The most common location for endometriosis lesions in patients with prior c-section was the abdominal wall (42.2% vs. 5.4%), although the size of foci was significantly smaller by size and weight (32.2 mm vs. 34.8 mm, respectively 48.6 g vs. 53.1 g). The abdominal wall endometriosis was significantly associated with minimally invasive pelvic procedures (correlation coefficient = 0.469, p-value = 0.001) and c-section (correlation coefficient = 0.523, p-value = 0.001). A multivariate regression analysis identified prior c-section as an independent risk factor for abdominal wall endometriosis (OR = 1.85, p-value < 0.001). We advocate for strict protocols to be implemented and followed during c-section and minimally invasive procedures involving the pelvic region to ensure minimum spillage of endometrial cells. Further research should be developed to determine the method of abdominal and surgical site irrigation that can significantly reduce the risk of implantation of viable endometrial cells. Understanding all details of iatrogenic endometriosis will lead to the development of non-invasive disease diagnosis and minimally invasive procedures that have the potential to reduce postoperative complications.
17 March 2021 in Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology
Cystic hygromas (CHs) are benign congenital malformations of the lymphatic system mainly diagnosed in small children aged less than two years old. They may give a multitude of local, sometimes severe complications. The most used method of treatment is surgical removal. In this paper, we present the case of a CH of a 13-year-old boy, localized in the right lateral region of the neck, diagnosed through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with excellent results of the surgical treatment.
Introduction: Sclerosing Extramedullary Hematopoietic Tumor (SEHT) is a very rare lesion associated with chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD). SEHT can mimic morphologically, both macroscopically and microscopically, a wide variety of tumors/lesions. Case presentation: We present the case of a female patient diagnosed with gallstones for which surgery was decided. Intraoperatively, a malignant tumor of extrahepatic bile ducts was suspected. A frozen section examination raised the suspicion of a mesenchymal tumor or an inflammatory pseudotumor. The histological evaluation of the permanent sections, supplemented with an immunohistochemical investigation (IHC), was the one that established the diagnosis of SEHT, based on the presence of areas of sclerosis, atypical CD31+ megakaryocytes, myeloid and erythroid elements. Conclusions: The authors present the difficulties of a morphological diagnosis on the frozen section and on permanent sections in the absence of relevant clinical information and make a review of the literature data dedicated to the subject.
Collision tumors, although rare, characterized by two distinctive (morphological, as well immunohistochemical) and spatially independent tumor components at the same location, are always puzzling for clinicians, pathologists, and patients because they do not fit into the usual approaches, being neither diagnostic nor therapeutic. Reviewing the specialized literature, to date, collision tumors have been reported in multiple locations such as the skin, esophagus, stomach, intestine, liver, kidney, bladder, adrenal gland, or thyroid. We report a case of coexistence at the same site of a malignant tumor of the ascending colon and a benign tumor emerging from the peritoneal lining, initially thought by the surgeon to be right-sided serosal carcinomatosis. But histopathological examination reveals that those multiple serosal nodules were benign granular cell tumors that have collided with highly aggressive transparietal signet-ring colon carcinoma. These results put the patient’s prognosis and therapeutic strategy in a different light than the clinical and intraoperative evaluation.
Background and Objectives: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems worldwide adapted to support COVID-19 patients while continuing to provide assistance to patients with other potentially fatal illnesses. While patients with cancer may be at an elevated risk of severe COVID-19-related complications, their oncologic therapies generally cannot be postponed indefinitely without a negative effect on outcomes. Taking this into account, a thorough examination of the therapy management of various cancers is necessary, such as cervical cancer. Therefore, we aimed to develop a retrospective cohort study to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of cancer care services for women diagnosed with cervical cancer staged IB2-IVA, necessitating chemo- and radiotherapy in Romania, as well as determine the difference in cervical cancer staging between the pandemic and pre-pandemic period. Materials and Methods: Using a multicentric hospital database, we designed a retrospective study to compare the last 24 months of the pre-pandemic period to the first 24 months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to evaluate the variation in the proportion of women diagnosed with cervical cancer and the percentage of inoperable cases requiring chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as to detail their clinical presentation and other findings. Results: We observed that the likelihood of cervical cancer patients requiring radiation therapy at a later stage than before the pandemic increased by about 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients at an advanced FIGO stage of cervical cancer had a 3.39 higher likelihood of disease progression after radiotherapy (CI [2.06–4.21], p-value < 0.001), followed by tumor size at diagnosis with a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.12 (CI [2.24–4.00], p-value < 0.001). The factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, postponed treatment and missed appointments, were also identified as significant risk factors for cervical cancer progression (HR = 2.51 and HR = 2.24, respectively). Conclusions We predict that there will be a considerable rise in cervical cancer cases over the next several years based on existing data and that expanding screening and treatment capacity will attenuate this with a minimal increase in morbidity and fatality.
Collision tumors, even uncommon, characterized by two distinctive (morphological, as well immunohistochemical) and spatially independent tumor components in the same location, are always puzzling for clinicians, pathologists and patients because they don’t fit in usual approaching schemes, neither diagnostic, nor therapeutic. Reviewing the specialized literature, until now, collision tumors have been reported in multiple locations such as the skin, esophagus, stomach, liver, kidney, bladder, adrenal gland or thyroid. We report a case of coexistence on the same site of a malignant tumor of ascending colon and a benign one emerging from peritoneal lining, thought initially by the surgeon to be right sided serosal carcinomatosis. But the histopatological examination reveals that those multiple serosal nodules were benign granular cell tumors collided with highly aggressive transparietal signet-ring colon carcinoma. These results put the patient's prognosis and therapeutic strategy in a different light than the clinical-imaging and intraoperative assessment.