Intratumoral oxygenation of invasive squamous cell carcimoma of the vulva is not correlated with regional lymph node metastasis.
BACKGROUND
Tumour hypoxia has been found to be associated with tumour aggressiveness. Our primary aim was to explore the relationship between pretreatment tumour oxygenation in primary vulvar carcinoma and nodal status. Our secondary objective was to assess if there was a relationship between the clinical and biological variables.


METHODS
20 women with ISCC of the vulva were assessed with pretreatment primary tumour oxygenation with an Eppendorf pO2 probe. Patients underwent standard surgical management. Pathological assessment of the primary and nodal tissues was then performed. Primary tumour specimens were also stained for microvessel density and carbonic anhydrase IX. The relationship between smoking, preoperative Hgb, tumour CAIX expression, MVD, and Eppendorf pO2 measurements vs nodal metastasis and between these clinical and biological variables was assessed.


RESULTS
Seven patients had positive lymph nodes, 13 had negative nodes. While neither current smoking status, tumour size, tumour oxygen measurements, MVD and CAIX expression correlated with metastatic nodal disease, a low preoperative Hgb correlated with pathological nodal status (p < 0.027).


CONCLUSIONS
Although this analysis failed to demonstrate a strong correlation between various measures of tumour oxygenation with nodal metastasis, it may be due to the small number of patients. Only preoperative anaemia is correlated with nodal metastasis in early ISCC of the vulva.
Stone
J E
JE
Department of Gynecology, Department of Gynecologic Oncology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Parker
R
R
Gilks
C B
CB
Stanbridge
E J
EJ
Liao
S Y
SY
Aquino-Parsons
C
C
D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D010100:Oxygen; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014846:Vulvar Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D010100:Oxygen