IJGC Podcast

ERAS Impact on Return to Treatment in Ovarian Cancer with Kevin Elias

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Pedro Ramirez, is joined by Dr. Kevin Elias to discuss the ERAS impact on return to treatment in ovarian cancer. Kevin Elias is an Assistant Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School. He is the President-Elect of ERAS USA, the American chapter of the ERAS Society.
Highlights
A. ERAS is associated with shorter lengths of stay and fewer complications for patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery.
B. The benefits of ERAS seem to extend beyond the hospital stay, as ERAS is strongly associated with timely resumption of adjuvant chemotherapy.
C. Auditing ERAS compliance is a key part of implementing an ERAS pathtway.
D. ERAS reduces variation in the quality of patient care, which improves consistency in oncologic treatments and potentially outcomes.

Reviewing the April Issue with Irina Tsibulak (Russian Version)

In this episode of the IJGC Podcast, Editorial Fellow Irina Tsibulak discusses the contents of the April issue in Russian.

Reviewing the April Issue with Anna Collins and Irina Tsibulak (English Version)

In this episode of the IJGC Podcast, Editorial Fellows Anna Collins and Irina Tsibulak discuss the contents of the April issue.

Radical Hysterectomy in Cervical Neuroendocrine Carcinoma with Michael Frumovitz

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Pedro Ramirez, is joined by Dr. Michael Frumovitz to discuss radical hysterectomy in cervical neuroendocrine carcinoma. Dr. Frumovitz is an Associate Editor for IJGC and the author of the Lead Article of the April 2021 issue of IJGC, “Role of radical hysterectomy in patients with early-stage high-grade neuroendocrine cervical carcinoma: a NeCTuR study" (https://ijgc.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/09/ijgc-2020-002213).
Highlights:
1. Patients with clinical and radiologic stage I high grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix will have microscopic parametrial involvement 10% of the time
2. All patients with parametrial involvement will have other risk factors requiring postoperative radiation (positive nodes or Sedlis)
3. If a patient has negative nodes, the risk of parametrial involvement is only 3%
4. Eighty percent of recurrences will happen within first two years and 86% destined to recur will recur within 3 years

IDEAL Framework Surgical Research Trials with Peter McCulloch

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez, is joined by Dr. Peter McCulloch to discuss the IDEAL Framework. Dr. McCulloch is Professor of Surgical Science & Practice at Oxford University. He attended medical school in Aberdeen and underwent his surgical training in Glasgow before moving to academic posts in Liverpool and then Oxford. An Upper GI cancer surgeon by background, he is the Chair of the IDEAL Collaboration, an international network of surgeons, scientists, industrial partners and patients whose goal is to improve the methodology for evaluating surgery, therapeutic devices and other complex treatments. He is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Surgery, Interventions, & Health Technologies (sit.bmj.com). His other major research interest is Human Factors in healthcare. He will ski anywhere, anytime, and is passionate about countering climate change.
Highlights:
• The IDEAL Framework & Recommendations provide an explanation of the natural history or life cycle of new procedures and devices, and a road map for how they should be evaluated at each stage in the journey.
• It explains why Randomised Trials have been so difficult to do in surgery and shows that there are at least 2 preliminary steps in research (Development and Exploration) which are necessary to ensure that an RCT has a good chance of success.
• IDEAL is potentially useful in surgical research at all stages, but also in device regulatory science, decisions on approving new procedures at institutions and coverage decisions
• IDEAL is increasingly recognised and endorsed by major journals (Annals of Surgery, BMJ & Lancet) and professional groups (Royal College of Surgeons) and is being used by government agencies in several countries.
• The IDEAL group continues to study and produce recommendations on difficult research issues such as: When is it OK NOT to do a randomised trial? How do we interpret studies using Real World Data? How should surgical robots be evaluated? And others.

MITO16b Trial: Bevacizumab in Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer with Sandro Pignata

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez, is joined by Dr. Sandro Pignata to discuss the MITO16b trial. Dr. Pignata is president of the Multicenter Italian Trial in Ovarian cancer (MITO) group, member of the educational committee of ESMO, Past Chair of the European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial Groups (ENGOT), and member of the board of directors of the Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG).
Highlights:
- The paper published on the Lancet demonstrate that bevacizumab given at recurrence is effective also in patients already treated with bevacizumab in first line.
- Exploratory analysis suggest that this effect is not present in BRCA mutated patients.

Reviewing the March Issue with Alex Mutombo (French Version)

In this episode of the IJGC Podcast, Editorial Fellow Alex Mutombo reviews the contents of the March issue in French.

Reviewing the March Issue with Enrique Chacon (Spanish Version)

In this episode of the IJGC Podcast, Editorial Fellow Enrique Chacon discusses the contents of the March issue in Spanish.

Reviewing the March Issue with Nicolò Bizzarri (Italian Version)

In this episode of the IJGC Podcast, Editorial Fellow Nicolò Bizzarri discusses the contents of the March issue in Italian.

International ABRAX Study with David Cibula

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez, is joined by Dr. David Cibula to discuss the international ABRAX study. Dr. Cibula is the Chair of the Gynecologic Oncology Center at the General Faculty Hospital in Prague, Chair of the Central and Eastern European Gynaecologic Oncology Group (CEEGOG), as well as a Former ESGO president.
Highlights:
* ABRAX trial was designed to evaluate if the completion of radical hysterectomy is associated with a survival benefit in patients with early-stage cervical cancer and positive pelvic lymph node found intraoperatively.
* This trial represents the largest cohort of patients managed by upfront surgery with negative lymph nodes on preoperative staging but positive lymph node involvement diagnosed during surgery.
* We did not find any improvement in PFS, OS, or pelvic disease-free survival associated with radical hysterectomy, either in the whole group or in any subgroups, including patients with larger tumor size or adenocarcinomas.
* The outcome of the ABRAX trial is in agreement with current international guidelines (NCCN, ESGO-ESTRO-ESP) which recommend the abandonment of further radical surgery in patients with intraoperative N1 detection.