Background: BRCA 1/2 mutation status has become one of the most important parameters for treatment decision in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The aim of this study was to compare tumor DNA with blood DNA sequencing to evaluate the reliability of BRCA tumor testing results. Methods: Patients who were treated for EOC between 2003 and 2019 at the Medical University of Vienna and underwent both germline (gBRCA) and tumor (tBRCA) testing for BRCA mutations were identified. We calculated the concordance rate and further analyzed discordant cases. Results: Out of 140 patients with EOC, gBRCA mutation was found in 47 (33.6%) and tBRCA mutation in 53 (37.9%) patients. Tumor testing identified an additional 9/140 (6.4%) patients with somatic BRCA mutation and negative germline testing. The comparison of germline testing with tumor testing revealed a concordance rate of 93.5% and a negative predictive value of tumor testing of 96.0%. After BRCA variants of uncertain significance were included in the analysis, concordance rate decreased to 90.9%. Conclusion: Tumor testing identified the majority of pathogenic germline BRCA mutations but missed three (2.1%) patients. In contrast, nine (6.4%) patients harboring a somatic BRCA mutation would have been missed by gBRCA testing only.

Radical trachelectomy allows for fertility preservation in patients with early cervical cancer not qualifying as “low-risk” as defined by ConCerv. This study reports on the 10-year surgical, oncological, and obstetrical experience of patients treated by radical abdominal trachelectomy at an Austrian tertiary care center. A retrospective chart analysis and telephone survey of all patients with FIGO stage IA2-IB2 (2018) cervical cancer treated by radical abdominal trachelectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy between 2013 and 2022 were performed. Radical abdominal trachelectomy was attempted in 29 patients, of whom 3 patients underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Three cases, including one after neoadjuvant therapy, required conversion to radical hysterectomy due to positive margins; four cases had positive lymph nodes following surgical staging and were referred to primary chemo-radiotherapy. Twenty-two (75.9%) successful abdominal radical trachelectomies preserving fertility were performed. According to final histopathology, 79.3% of tumors would not have met the “low-risk”-criteria. At a median follow-up of 64.5 (25.5–104.0) months, no recurrence was observed. Eight (36.4%) patients attempted to conceive, with a live birth rate of 62.5%. Radical abdominal trachelectomy appears oncologically safe in early-stage cervical cancers that do not fulfill the “low-risk”-criteria. Strict preoperative selection of patients who might qualify for more conservative surgical approaches is strongly recommended.

Discrimination between benign and malignant adnexal masses is essential for optimal treatment planning, but still remains challenging in a routine clinical setting. In this retrospective study, we aimed to compare albumin as a single parameter to calculate models by analyzing laboratory parameters of 1552 patients with an adnexal mass (epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC): n= 294; borderline tumor of the ovary (BTO): n = 66; benign adnexal mass: n = 1192) undergoing surgery. Models comprising classical laboratory parameters show better accuracies (AUCs 0.92–0.93; 95% CI 0.90–0.95) compared to the use of single markers, and could easily be implemented in clinical practice by containing only readily available markers. This has been incorporated into a nomogram.