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Rare non-serous fallopian tube cancers: institutional experience and literature review

Seltene, nichtseröse Eileiterkarzinome: Erfahrungen an einer Klinik und Literaturübersicht

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Summary

Introduction

We reviewed 63 reports from the literature on rare non-serous tumors of the fallopian tubes and carried out a comparative analysis of clinical manifestations and diagnostic methods. We also report our observations from patients with these tumors.

Materials and methods

Of 157 patients with primary fallopian tube cancer (FTC) treated in our regional oncological hospital between 1970 and 2020, there were nine (6%) cases of rare non-serous cancers, including one case each of choriocarcinoma, carcinosarcoma, and neuroendocrine tumor, and two cases each of non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma, and clear cell adenocarcinoma.

Results

For carcinosarcoma and squamous cell, clear cell, and transitional cell carcinomas, clinical history, patient age, and clinical manifestations were similar to the main group of FTCs. Choriocarcinoma differed significantly from other cancers of the fallopian tubes in terms of patient age and clinical course. Mucinous adenocarcinoma, mesothelioma, and borderline tumors, with rare exceptions, were almost always asymptomatic and were found only incidentally during surgery. Choriocarcinoma and carcinosarcoma had an aggressive course, while squamous cell, transitional cell, clear cell, and mucinous carcinomas were less aggressive. Since most rare non-serous tumors have a similar disease course to typical FTCs and there is a lack of appropriate treatment protocols for rare tumors, treatment options developed for ovarian tumors and FTC are justified for these tumors.

Conclusion

Rare non-serous malignant fallopian tube tumors are very similar to serous and endometrioid FTC in terms of clinical manifestations and diagnosis.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine under grant no. 0121U100472 and grant no. 0123U100111.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine

    Dmitrii Sumtsov PhD MD,  Georgyi Sumtsov PhD MD,  Nataliia Hyriavenko PhD MD,  Mykola Lyndin PhD MD, Kateryna Sikora MD,  Nataliia Kalashnik PhD MD &  Svitlana Smiian PhD MD

  2. Sumy Regional Clinical Oncological Dispensary, Sumy, Ukraine

    Dmitrii Sumtsov PhD MD

  3. Institute of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Mykola Lyndin PhD MD

  4. Sumy State University, 31Privokzalna st., 40022, Sumy, Ukraine

    Kateryna Sikora MD

  5. Odessa National Medical University, Odessa, Ukraine

    Igor Gladchuk DM MD

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  1. Dmitrii Sumtsov PhD MD
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Contributions

DS, GS, IG, and NH designed the research study. DS, GS, NH, ML, and KS performed the research. DS, GS, NK, SS, and IG provided help and advice on the study. DS, GS, NH, NK, SS, ML, and KS analyzed the data. GS, NH, DS, NK, SS, IG, ML, and KS wrote the manuscript. GS, NH, and IG—final approval of the paper. All authors contributed to editorial changes in the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kateryna Sikora MD.

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Conflict of interest

D. Sumtsov, G. Sumtsov, N. Hyriavenko, M. Lуndin, K. Sikora, N. Kalashnik, S. Smiian, and I. Gladchuk declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants or on human tissue were approved by the Bioethics Commission of the Medical Institute of the Sumy State University (experimental protocol no. 4/10 from 12.02.2020) and was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and International Conference on Harmonization/Good Clinical Practice guidelines. The manuscript does not disclose the personal data of patients.

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Sumtsov, D., Sumtsov, G., Hyriavenko, N. et al. Rare non-serous fallopian tube cancers: institutional experience and literature review. Wien Med Wochenschr 174, 199–207 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-023-01027-3

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