title: Occult tumor cells in surgical specimens from cases of early cervical cancer treated by liposuction-assisted nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy.
abstract: Tumor recurrence in patients with cervical cancer after primary radical surgery with complete tumor resection (R0) may be caused by occult tumor cell deposits (OTCD) in potentially tumor-bearing pelvic tissue. New surgical techniques, like liposuction-assisted nerve-sparing radical abdominal hysterectomy (LANS-RH) might be performed to remove this tissue. In a preliminary study of 30 cases, treated with LANS-RH, the liposuction specimens were examined on hematoxylin & eosin (H&E)-stained step sections and at immunohistochemical levels, using the antibody cocktails MNF 116 and AE1/AE3 for cytokeratins to detect occult tumor cells. In nine cases microscopically tumor-free lymph nodes were detected in the liposuction material. One case presented lymphovascular space involvement in the capsular region of a node on H&E stained slides. Two additional cases showed tumor cell deposits in pelvic perinodal fatty tissue on immunohistochemical examination. We conclude that the LANS-RH technique is capable of resecting potentially tumor-bearing pelvic tissue. Careful histologic handling and immunohistochemical techniques may improve the detection of OTCD.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Gynaecopathology, University of Leipzig, Germany. hornl@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Höckel
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000379:methods*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007633:Keratins; D015187:Lipectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; D010388:Pelvis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D007633:Keratins