Laparoscopic staging for early ovarian ca studied: there were no significant differences between cases and controls in mean left or right pelvic lymph nodes.(Gynecology)

SAN DIEGO -- Laparoscopic surgical staging is safe and adequate for patients with apparent stage I ovarian and fallopian tube cancer, results from a preliminary analysis suggest.

"Larger studies with long-term follow-up are needed to identify the appropriate indications and limitations of this approach," Dr. Dennis S. Chi reported at the joint annual meeting of the American Urogynecologic Society and the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons.

A handful of studies have demonstrated that laparoscopic surgical staging of ovarian cancer is feasible, according to Dr. Chi, who is a gynecologic oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

"However, many of these studies did not analyze the adequacy of the staging procedure by way of reporting lymph node counts, and none of the studies were controlled studies. The question then becomes whether comprehensive staging can be performed laparoscopically," said Dr. Chi.

He and his associates performed a case-control study of 20 patients with apparent stage I adnexal cancers who underwent laparoscopic staging between October 2000 and May 2003.

The controls consisted of 30 patients with apparent stage I epithelial carcinoma who underwent staging via laparotomy during the same time period.

Patients with borderline carcinomas, stromal tumors, and germ cell tumors were excluded from the control group "to ensure that the benefit of surgical staging was well established and that the most comprehensive and complete surgical ...