There are no internationally agreed upon clinical guidelines as to which women with gynecological cancer would benefit from Lynch syndrome screening or how best to manage the risk of gynecological ...cancer in women with Lynch syndrome. The Manchester International Consensus Group was convened in April 2017 to address this unmet need. The aim of the Group was to develop clear and comprehensive clinical guidance regarding the management of the gynecological sequelae of Lynch syndrome based on existing evidence and expert opinion from medical professionals and patients.
Stakeholders from Europe and North America worked together over a two-day workshop to achieve consensus on best practice.
Guidance was developed in four key areas: (1) whether women with gynecological cancer should be screened for Lynch syndrome and (2) how this should be done, (3) whether there was a role for gynecological surveillance in women at risk of Lynch syndrome, and (4) what preventive measures should be recommended for women with Lynch syndrome to reduce their risk of gynecological cancer.
This document provides comprehensive clinical guidance that can be referenced by both patients and clinicians so that women with Lynch syndrome can expect and receive appropriate standards of care.
The randomized Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Versus Radiotherapy Alone in Women With High-Risk Endometrial Cancer (PORTEC-3) trial investigated the benefit of combined adjuvant chemotherapy and ...radiotherapy (CTRT) versus radiotherapy alone (RT) for women with high-risk endometrial cancer (EC). Because The Cancer Genome Atlas defined an EC molecular classification with strong prognostic value, we investigated prognosis and impact of chemotherapy for each molecular subgroup using tissue samples from PORTEC-3 trial participants.
Paraffin-embedded tissues of 423 consenting patients were collected. Immunohistochemistry for p53 and mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, and DNA sequencing for
exonuclease domain were done to classify tumors as p53 abnormal (p53abn),
ultramutated (
mut), MMR-deficient (MMRd), or no specific molecular profile (NSMP). The primary end point was recurrence-free survival (RFS). Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox model were used for analysis.
Molecular analysis was successful in 410 high-risk EC (97%), identifying the 4 subgroups: p53abn EC (n = 93; 23%),
mut (n = 51; 12%), MMRd (n = 137; 33%), and NSMP (n = 129; 32%). Five-year RFS was 48% for patients with p53abn EC, 98% for
mut EC, 72% for MMRd EC, and 74% for NSMP EC (
< .001). The 5-year RFS with CTRT versus RT for p53abn EC was 59% versus 36% (
= .019); 100% versus 97% for patients with
mut EC (
= .637); 68% versus 76% (
= .428) for MMRd EC; and 80% versus 68% (
= .243) for NSMP EC.
Molecular classification has strong prognostic value in high-risk EC, with significantly improved RFS with adjuvant CTRT for p53abn tumors, regardless of histologic type. Patients with
mut EC had an excellent RFS in both trial arms. EC molecular classification should be incorporated in the risk stratification of these patients as well as in future trials to target specific subgroups of patients.
B-cells play a key role in cancer suppression, particularly when aggregated in tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). Here, we investigate the role of B-cells and TLS in endometrial cancer (EC). Single ...cell RNA-sequencing of B-cells shows presence of naïve B-cells, cycling/germinal center B-cells and antibody-secreting cells. Differential gene expression analysis shows association of TLS with L1CAM overexpression. Immunohistochemistry and co-immunofluorescence show L1CAM expression in mature TLS, independent of L1CAM expression in the tumor. Using L1CAM as a marker, 378 of the 411 molecularly classified ECs from the PORTEC-3 biobank are evaluated, TLS are found in 19%. L1CAM expressing TLS are most common in mismatch-repair deficient (29/127, 23%) and polymerase-epsilon mutant EC (24/47, 51%). Multivariable Cox regression analysis shows strong favorable prognostic impact of TLS, independent of clinicopathological and molecular factors. Our data suggests a pivotal role of TLS in outcome of EC patients, and establishes L1CAM as a simple biomarker.
Extra‐uterine high‐grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) accounts for most of the morbidity and mortality associated with ovarian carcinoma, and is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women. Until ...recently our understanding of HGSC was very limited compared to other common cancers, and it has only been during the last 15 years that we have learned how to diagnose this ovarian carcinoma histotype accurately. Since then, however, there has been rapid progress, with identification of a precursor lesion in the fallopian tube, development of prevention strategies for both those with inherited susceptibility (hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome) and without the syndrome, and elucidation of the molecular events important in oncogenesis. This molecular understanding has led to new treatment strategies for HGSC, with the promise of more to come in the near future. In this review we focus on these recent changes, including diagnostic criteria/differential diagnosis, primary site assignment, precursor lesions and the molecular pathology of HGSC.
To develop and validate a histopathologic scoring system for measuring response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in interval debulking surgery specimens of stage IIIC to IV tubo-ovarian high-grade serous ...carcinoma.
A six-tier histopathologic scoring system was proposed and applied to a test cohort (TC) of 62 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and interval debulking surgery. Adnexal and omental sections were independently scored by three pathologists. On the basis of TC results, a three-tier chemotherapy response score (CRS) system was developed and applied to an independent validation cohort of 71 patients.
The initial system showed moderate interobserver reproducibility and prognostic stratification of TC patients when applied to the omentum but not to the adnexa. Condensed to a three-tier score, the system was highly reproducible (kappa, 0.75). When adjusted for age, stage, and debulking status, the score predicted progression-free survival (PFS; score 2 v 3; median PFS, 11.3 v 32.1 months; adjusted hazard ratio, 6.13; 95% CI, 2.13 to 17.68; P < .001). The three-tier CRS system applied to omental samples from the validation cohort showed high reproducibility (kappa, 0.67) and predicted PFS (CRS 1 and 2 v 3: median, 12 v 18 months; adjusted hazard ratio, 3.60; 95% CI, 1.69 to 7.66; P < .001). CRS 3 also predicted sensitivity to first-line platinum therapy (94.3% negative predictive value for progression < 6 months). A Web site was established to train pathologists to use the CRS system.
The CRS system is reproducible and shows prognostic significance for high-grade serous carcinoma. Implementation in international pathology reporting has been proposed by the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting, and the system could potentially have an impact on patient care and research.
We investigated whether inhibition of interleukin 6 (IL-6) has therapeutic activity in ovarian cancer via abrogation of a tumor-promoting cytokine network.
We combined preclinical and in silico ...experiments with a phase 2 clinical trial of the anti-IL-6 antibody siltuximab in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
Automated immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays from 221 ovarian cancer cases showed that intensity of IL-6 staining in malignant cells significantly associated with poor prognosis. Treatment of ovarian cancer cells with siltuximab reduced constitutive cytokine and chemokine production and also inhibited IL-6 signaling, tumor growth, the tumor-associated macrophage infiltrate and angiogenesis in IL-6-producing intraperitoneal ovarian cancer xenografts. In the clinical trial, the primary endpoint was response rate as assessed by combined RECIST and CA125 criteria. One patient of eighteen evaluable had a partial response, while seven others had periods of disease stabilization. In patients treated for 6 months, there was a significant decline in plasma levels of IL-6-regulated CCL2, CXCL12, and VEGF. Gene expression levels of factors that were reduced by siltuximab treatment in the patients significantly correlated with high IL-6 pathway gene expression and macrophage markers in microarray analyses of ovarian cancer biopsies.
IL-6 stimulates inflammatory cytokine production, tumor angiogenesis, and the tumor macrophage infiltrate in ovarian cancer and these actions can be inhibited by a neutralizing anti-IL-6 antibody in preclinical and clinical studies.
We sought to identify the genomic abnormalities in squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) arising in ovarian mature cystic teratoma (MCT), a rare gynecological malignancy of poor prognosis.
We performed copy ...number, mutational state, and zygosity analysis of 151 genes in SCC arising in MCT (
= 25) using next-generation sequencing. The presence of high-/intermediate-risk HPV genotypes was assessed by quantitative PCR. Genomic events were correlated with clinical features and outcome.
MCT had a low mutation burden with a mean of only one mutation per case. Zygosity analyses of MCT indicated four separate patterns, suggesting that MCT can arise from errors at various stages of oogenesis. A total of 244 abnormalities were identified in 79 genes in MCT-associated SCC, and the overall mutational burden was high (mean 10.2 mutations per megabase). No SCC was positive for HPV. The most frequently altered genes in SCC were
(20/25 cases, 80%),
(13/25 cases, 52%), and
(11/25 cases, 44%). Mutation in
was associated with improved overall survival. In 8 of 20 cases with
mutations, two or more variants were identified, which were bi-allelic.
Ovarian SCC arising in MCT has a high mutational burden, with
mutation the most common abnormality. The presence of
mutation is a good prognostic factor. SCC arising in MCT share similar mutation profiles to other SCC. Given their rarity, they should be included in basket studies that recruit patients with SCC of other organs.
.
The revised FIGO 2013 staging for carcinomas of the ovary, fallopian tube and peritoneum has introduced a single system for tumours originating at these sites. The system requires pathologists to ...assign a primary site (ovary, tube or peritoneum), but does not provide guidance to aid this assignment. This is particularly problematic in cases of advanced‐stage (stage II or greater) high‐grade serous carcinoma (HGSC), where there is commonly involvement of two or more sites by tumour, and practice among pathologists in determining where a tumour has arisen varies widely. This has significant implications for recording of tumour incidence and mortality, data collection by cancer registries, and entry into clinical trials. We propose guidelines for assigning the primary site of HGSC based on careful macroscopic and histological assessment. The use of these guidelines, in conjunction with the new FIGO staging system, is intended to act as an impetus to promote debate and provide a uniform and consistent approach in assigning primary tumour site which will facilitate comparison of data between centres.