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PURPOSE: Several studies have observed that some stage III colorectal cancer (CRC) patients cannot benefit from standard adjuvant chemotherapy. However, there is no unified screening standard to date. METHODS: Consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed colon adenocarcinoma treated in 3 centers between January 2016 and December 2018 were included. Patients were divided into four groups according to different stages and positive paracolic lymph-node ratio (P-LNR) [Cohort 1: pT1-3N0M0, Cohort 2: pT1-3N + (P-LNR ≤ 0.15)M0, Cohort 3: pT4N0M0, Cohort 4: stage III patients except for pT1-3N + (P-LNR ≤ 0.15)M0], and further overall survival was compared by Kaplan-Meier method. The univariate and multivariate analyses were employed for cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: We retrospectively reviewed 5581 consecutive CRC patients with, and 2861 eligible patients were enrolled for further analysis. The optimal cut-off value of P-LNR in our study was 0.15. There was no significant difference in OS (91.36 vs. 93.74%) and DFS (87.65 vs. 90.96%) between stage III patients with pT1-3N + (P-LNR ≤ 0.15)M0 and those with pT1-3N0M0. Further analysis demonstrated that CRC patients with pT1-3N + (P-LNR ≤ 0.15)M0 were less likely to benefit from 8 cycles of CAPOX or FOLFOX chemotherapy and suffered fewer adverse events from declining chemotherapy. Comparing with 0-4 cycles versus 8 cycles, the overall survival rates were 91.35 versus 90.19% (P = 0.79), and with a DFS of 87.50 versus 88.24% (P = 0.49), the duration of adjuvant chemotherapy was not an independent risk factor for patients with pT1-3N + (P-LNR ≤ 0.15)M0 (HR: 0.70, 95% CI 0.90-1.30, P = 0.42). CONCLUSION: The concept of P-LNR we proposed might have a high clinical application value and accurately enable clinicians to screen out specific CRC patients who decline or prefer limited chemotherapy. TRIAL REGISTRY: The clinical trial registration number: ChiCTR2300076883.
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Introduction: Stage III NSCLC is a heterogeneous disease, representing approximately one-third of newly diagnosed lung cancers. Brazil lacks detailed information regarding stage distribution, treatment patterns, survival, and prognostic variables in locally advanced NSCLC. Methods: RELANCE/LACOG 0118 is an observational, retrospective cohort study assessing sociodemographic and clinical data of patients diagnosed with having stage III NSCLC from January 2015 to June 2019, regardless of treatment received. The study was conducted across 13 cancer centers in Brazil. Disease status and survival data were collected up to June 2021. Descriptive statistics, survival analyses, and a multivariable Cox regression model were performed. p values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: We recruited 403 patients with stage III NSCLC. Most were male (64.0%), White (31.5%), and smokers or former smokers (86.1%). Most patients had public health insurance (67.5%), had stage IIIA disease (63.2%), and were treated with concurrent chemoradiation (53.1%). The median follow-up time was 33.83 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30.43-37.50). Median overall survival (OS) was 27.97 months (95% CI: 21.57-31.73), and median progression-free survival was 11.23 months (95% CI: 10.70-12.77). The type of treatment was independently associated with OS and progression-free survival, whereas the types of health insurance and histology were independent predictors of OS only. Conclusions: Brazilian patients with stage III NSCLC with public health insurance are diagnosed later and have poorer OS. Nevertheless, patients with access to adequate treatment have outcomes similar to those reported in the pivotal trials. Health policy should be improved to make lung cancer diagnosis faster and guarantee prompt access to adequate treatment in Brazil.
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BACKGROUND: In stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), surgery plays a role in terms of multimodal treatment. Surgery rates have increased in recent years, mainly due to the combination of more accurate imaging tools, electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy, robotic bronchoscopy, robotic surgery, and a wide range of challenging clinical scenarios to lead surgeons and oncologists to include surgery as an option in therapeutic management. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prognostic factors, the 5-year overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with resectable stage III-NSCLC. METHODS: Patients' information was extracted from 76 Hospitals' Cancer Registry. OS and CSS were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to assess differences between curves. In addition, Cox regression was conducted to evaluate the patients' characteristics leading to better OS and CSS. RESULTS: Overall, 433 stage III NSCLC surgical patients followed over 19 years were included. The median age was 61.29 ± 9.62 years, 58.4% male, 50.1% with adenocarcinoma, 29.3% with squamous cell carcinoma, 3.7% with large-cell lung carcinoma, and 16,9% with other lung cancer types. The 5-year OS was 30.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27.4-36.1), and the CSS was 35.0% (95% CI: 29.4-41.0). In the Cox multivariate regression, squamous cell carcinoma was associated with reduced OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.07-1.83; p=0.014) and CSS (HR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.17-2.08; p = 0.002), in comparison with adenocarcinoma. The 2015-2019 quinquennial had a 50% reduction in HR (0.49; 95% CI: 0.29-0.81; p = 0.006), and the 2010-2014 group had a 40% reduction (0.59; 95% CI: 0.42-0.83; p = 0.006) in comparison with the 2000-2004 patients' group. CONCLUSION: The OS and CSS of patients with resectable stage III NSCLC have improved over the past 19 years in our region. Squamous cell carcinoma was associated with increased mortality risk from any cause or specific cancer.
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Adenocarcinoma , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Idoso , Feminino , Brasil/epidemiologia , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Adenocarcinoma/cirurgia , Adenocarcinoma/patologia , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas/cirurgia , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas/patologia , Estudos Retrospectivos , PrognósticoRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The KEYNOTE-054 trial found that adjuvant treatment with pembrolizumab improved recurrence-free survival versus placebo in completely resected high-risk stage III melanoma patients. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of adjuvant pembrolizumab in Colombia compared with watchful waiting, a widely used strategy despite the high risk of recurrence with surgery alone. METHODS: A four-health state [recurrence-free (RF), locoregional recurrence (LR), distant metastases (DM), and death) Markov model was developed to assess the lifetime medical costs and outcomes (3% annual discount), along with cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). The transitions from the RF and LR states were modeled using KEYNOTE-054 data, and those from the DM state were modeled using data from the KEYNOTE-006 trial and a network meta-analysis of advanced treatments received after adjuvant pembrolizumab and watchful waiting. The health state utilities were derived from KEYNOTE-054 Euro-QoL data and literature. Costs are expressed in 2021 Colombian pesos (COP). RESULTS: Over a 46-year time horizon, patients on adjuvant pembrolizumab and watchful waiting were estimated to gain 9.69 and 7.56 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), 10.83 and 8.65 life-years (LYs), and incur costs of COP 663,595,726 and COP 563,237,206, respectively. The proportion of LYs spent in RF state was 84.63% for pembrolizumab and 72.13% for watchful waiting, yielding lower subsequent treatment, disease management, and terminal care costs for pembrolizumab. Adjuvant pembrolizumab improved survival by 2.18 LYs and 2.13 QALYs versus watchful waiting. The ICER per QALY was COP 47,081,917, primarily driven by recurrence rates and advanced melanoma treatments. The deterministic sensitivity analysis results were robust and consistent across various reasonable inputs and alternative scenarios. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of COP 69,150,201 per QALY, the probability of pembrolizumab being cost-effective was 65.70%. CONCLUSION: Pembrolizumab is cost-effective as an adjuvant treatment compared to watchful waiting among patients with high-risk stage III melanoma after complete resection in Colombia.
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Melanoma , Qualidade de Vida , Humanos , Análise Custo-Benefício , Colômbia , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/tratamento farmacológico , Melanoma/tratamento farmacológico , Melanoma/cirurgia , Anos de Vida Ajustados por Qualidade de Vida , Adjuvantes Imunológicos/uso terapêutico , Linfonodos/patologia , Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Melanoma Maligno CutâneoRESUMO
PURPOSE: Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) is frequently treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Despite the efforts, long-term outcomes are poor, and novel therapies have been introduced to improve results. Biomarkers are needed to detect early treatment failure and plan future follow-up and therapies. Our aim is to evaluate the role of dynamics of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with locally advanced NSCLC treated with CRT. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with LA-NSCLC receiving definitive CRT at our center from 2010 to 2015. Baseline and post-treatment NLR were collected from our center database. NLR was dichotomized (threshold = 4) and patients were divided into two groups based on the variation from baseline to post-treatment NLR. The prognostic role and association with response were examined with logistic regression and multivariate Cox regression model, respectively. RESULTS: Ninety-two patients were included. Our analysis shows that NLR after treatment is associated with response to treatment [OR in the multivariate analysis 4.94 (1.01-24.48); p value = 0.048]. Furthermore, NLR and ECOG are independent prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Specifically, PFS was 25.79 months for the good prognosis group and 12.09 for the poor prognosis group [HR 2.98 (CI 95% = 1.74-5.10), p < 0.001]; and OS was 42.94 months and 18.86 months, respectively [HR 2.81 (CI 95% = 1.62-4.90), p < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: Dynamics of NLR have a prognostic value in stage III NSCLC treated with definitive CRT. Pre- and post-CRT NLR should be evaluated in prospective clinical trials involving consolidation treatment with immunotherapy.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/sangue , Neoplasias Pulmonares/sangue , Linfócitos/citologia , Neutrófilos/citologia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/mortalidade , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/terapia , Quimiorradioterapia , Feminino , Humanos , Contagem de Leucócitos , Modelos Logísticos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/mortalidade , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/terapia , Contagem de Linfócitos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Prognóstico , Intervalo Livre de Progressão , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , Estudos Retrospectivos , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
Introducción La quimioterapia neoadyuvante (qtn) es el tratamiento inicial para pacientes con tumores localmente avanzados, permitiendo la evaluación de la sensibilidad in vivo a los agentes antineoplásicos y la planificación de estrategias quirúrgicas con resultados cosméticos favorables. Objetivos Comparar la tasa de respuesta patológica completa (pcr), la tasa de conversión a cirugía conservadora (tccc), el tiempo a la recaída a distancia (trad) y la supervivencia libre de enfermedad a distancia (sled) a 60 meses en pacientes con cáncer de mama Estadio III que fueron tratadas con qtn antes y después del año 2007 Material y método Se trata de un estudio observacional de cohortes retrospectivo en el que se analizaron registros de pacientes con cáncer de mama Estadio III operadas entre 1987 y 2016 que hubieran realizado qtn . Se constituyeron dos cohortes: en la primera se reunieron pacientes tratadas entre 1987 y 2006; en la segunda se agruparon aquellas tratadas entre 2007 y 2016. Se estableció esta diferencia dado que a partir de 2007 hubo cambios en la modalidad terapéutica: se administró la quimioterapia en forma continua antes de la cirugía y se introdujeron los taxanos y la terapia anti-her2 neu en los esquemas de qtn . En total se registraron 202 pacientes, 146 pertenecientes a la primera cohorte y 56 pertenecientes a la segunda. La mediana de edad y el tamaño tumoral fueron similares entre ambos grupos, mientras que en el segundo grupo observamos mayor porcentaje de tumores Grado 3 y mayor carga tumoral axilar. Resultados La tasa de pcr fue del 2% (n=3) para el primer grupo y de 13% (n=7) para el segundo (p=0,0022). La tasa de conversión a cirugía conservadora fue del 27% (n=20) para el primer grupo y del 41% (n=17) para el segundo, observándose un 14% más de cirugías conservadoras en este último (p=0,11). La mediana de trad fue de 33 meses para el primer grupo y de 46,5 meses para el segundo (p=0,044). La sled a 60 meses fue del 58% vs el 74% para el primer y segundo grupo respectivamente (p=0,039). Conclusiones Los cambios en la modalidad terapéutica en qtn en nuestra práctica se tradujeron en mayores tasas de pcr, mayor porcentaje de conversión a cirugía conservadora, mayor tiempo a la recidiva a distancia y mayor supervivencia libre de enfermedad a distancia
Introduction Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients with locally advanced breast cancer, allowing surgical planning with favorable cosmetic outcome and evaluation of in vivo response to antineoplastic agents. Objectives To compare pathologic complete response, breast conserving surgery conversion rates, time to distant relapse and distant recurrence free survival after 60 months in patients with Stage III breast cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy before and after year 2007. Materials and method Observational retrospective cohort study analizing database and medical records of patients with Stage III breast cancer who had surgery after neoadjuvant therapy between 1987 and 2016. We divided the population into two cohorts, one with patients treated between 1987 and 2006, and another one with those ones treated between 2007 and 2016. We established that difference given that from 2007 and onwards there were major changes in treatment modality: chemotherapy was administered completely before surgery, and Taxane-containing regimens as well as Anti-her2 therapies were included. We registered 202 patients, 146 in the first group and 56 in the second. While median of age and tumor size were similar between groups, axillary tumor burden and histologic grade were higher in the second group. Results Pathologic complete response rate was 2% for the first group and 13% for the second (p=0.0022). Breast conserving surgery conversion rates were 27% vs 41%, with 14% more breast conserving surgeries in the second cohort. Median time to distant recurrence was 33 months vs 46.5 months (p=0.044) and distant recurrence free survival was 58% vs 74% (p=0.039) for groups 1 and two 2 respectively. Conclusions Changes in treatment modality in our practice resulted in better pcr outcomes, more breast conserving surgery conversion rates, longer time to distant relapse and a better distant recurrence free survival
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Cirurgia Geral , Neoplasias da Mama , Terapia Neoadjuvante , NeoplasiasRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important issue in the rapidly evolving field of adjuvant treatment for stage III melanoma. Dendritic cell vaccination is one of the adjuvant forms of therapy currently investigated. METHODS: We enrolled adults with stage III melanoma to receive adjuvant dendritic cell vaccination after a complete radical lymph node dissection. HRQoL assessment was one of the secondary endpoints of this trial and investigated with the EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire at baseline and week 26. RESULTS: Fifteen patients with a median age of 50 years were included in the study, with twelve evaluable patients on study at time of the second questionnaire. Global health status and role functioning improved clinically relevant with a mean difference of 15 (p = 0.010) and 26 points (p = 0.005), respectively. DISCUSSION: Despite the small number of patients, we found a clinically relevant improved global health status. Besides, compared to the other investigated therapies, toxicity of dendritic cell vaccination is low, which supports our finding. CONCLUSION: This is the first description of HRQoL in melanoma patients receiving dendritic cell vaccination. We show the expected improvement in global health status after surgical treatment of stage III melanoma. Thus, adjuvant dendritic cell vaccination does not seem to hamper this improvement, as shown in our small explorative study.
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Adjuvantes Imunológicos/uso terapêutico , Células Dendríticas/transplante , Imunoterapia , Melanoma/terapia , Qualidade de Vida , Adulto , Idoso , Células Dendríticas/imunologia , Feminino , Seguimentos , Humanos , Masculino , Melanoma/imunologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Estudos Prospectivos , Inquéritos e Questionários , Adulto JovemRESUMO
PURPOSE: The standard treatment for patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), unsuitable for resection and with good performance, is definitive radiotherapy with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Our aim is to evaluate the effect of the maximum value of standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of the primary tumor in positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) before treatment on complete response (CR) and overall survival. METHODS: The data of 73 stage III NSCLC patients treated with concurrent definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) between 2008 and 2017 and had PET/CT staging in the pretreatment period were evaluated. ROC curve analysis was performed to determine the ideal cut-off value of pretreatment SUVmax to predict CR. RESULTS: Median age was 58 years (range 27-83 years) and 66 patients were male (90.4%). Median follow-up time was 18 months (range 3-98 months); median survival was 23 months. 1-year overall survival (OS) rate and 5-year OS rate were 72 and 19%, respectively. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9 months; 1-year PFS rate and 5-year PFS rate were 38 and 19%, respectively. The ideal cut-off value of pretreatment SUVmax that predicted the complete response of CRT was 12 in the ROC analysis [AUC 0.699 (0.550-0.833)/P < 0.01] with a sensitivity of 83%, and specificity of 55%. In patients with SUVmax < 12, CR rate was 60%, while, in patients with SUV ≥ 12, it was only 19% (P = 0.002). Median OS was 26 months in patients with pretreatment SUVmax < 12, and 21 months in patients with SUVmax ≥ 12 (HR = 2.93; 95% CI 17.24-28.75; P = 0.087). CR rate of the whole patient population was 26%, and it was the only factor that showed a significant benefit on survival in both univariate and multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment SUVmax of the primary tumor in PET/CT may predict CR in stage III NSCLC patients who were treated with definitive CRT. Having clinical CR is the only positive predictive factor for prolonged survival.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/metabolismo , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/radioterapia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/radioterapia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/diagnóstico por imagem , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Quimiorradioterapia , Feminino , Fluordesoxiglucose F18/farmacocinética , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/diagnóstico por imagem , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Tomografia por Emissão de Pósitrons combinada à Tomografia Computadorizada , Prognóstico , Curva ROC , Compostos Radiofarmacêuticos/farmacocinética , Estudos Retrospectivos , Taxa de Sobrevida , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
El cáncer de la vesícula biliar (CaVB), es una neoplasias frecuente en nuestro país. La supervivencia (SV) global no supera el 40% a 5 años. La invasión de la túnica serosa y el estadio IIIB, se asocian a menor SV por considerarse una etapa avanzada de la enfermedad; por ello no hay consenso respecto del rol de la cirugía en estos casos. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la evidencia existente respecto del rol de la cirugía en el tratamiento de un paciente con CaVB estadio IIIb. Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática de la evidencia disponible en la bases de datos Clinical Evidence, National Health Service, Health Technology Assessment, Tripdatabase, Cochrane Library y PubMed. Se buscaron a documentos de resumen de la evidencia (overviews, guías de práctica clínica (GPC, tablas GRADE), artículos secundarios (revisiones sistemáticas/RS) y artículos primarios (ensayos clínicos/EC y estudios observacionales/EO). Posteriormente, la evidencia se clasificó según la propuesta de la CEBM 2009. Se encontró un total de 420 documentos relacionados: 25 overviews, 15 tablas GRADE, 30 GPC, 37 RS, 99 EC y 214 EO. Al examinar en detalle todos los documentos; Se comprobó que sólo 17 estaban relacionados con los resultados del tratamiento quirúrgico de la CaVB en etapa III; y 5 se refieren a esta (3 EO, 1 GPC y una recomendación del NCI), pero ninguno al estadio IIIb. Existen pocos estudios relacionados, la mayor parte de ellos son de tipo retrospectivo, con un pequeño número de pacientes incluidos, de población y procedimientos quirúrgicos heterogéneos; por ende, es muy sacar conclusiones y realizar recomendaciones basadas en la evidencia existente.
Gallbladder cancer (GBC), is a common neoplasm in our country. The overall survival rate (OSR) does not exceed 40% at 5 years. The invasion of the serosa and IIIB stage, are associated with lower OSR seen it are an advanced stage of the disease, so there is no consensus on the role of surgery in this type ofpatients. The aim of this study is to analyze the existing evidence concerning the role of surgery in the treatment of a patient with stage IIIb GBC. A systematic search of available evidence in the databases Clinical Evidence, National Health Service, Health Technology Assessment, Tripdatabase, Cochrane Library and PubMed search was performed. Evidence summary documents (overviews, GRADE tables, Clinical Guidelines/CG), secondary articles (systematic reviews) and primary articles (Clinical trials/CT) and observational studies/OS) were searched. Subsequently, evidence was classified as proposed by EMBC 2009. A total of 420 related documents were found: 25 overviews, 15 GRADE tables, 30 CG, 37 SR, 99 CT and 214 OS. In reviewing at length all documents; It was verified that only 17 were related to results of surgical treatment of GC that stage III was mentioned and 5 refer to this (3 OS, 1 CG and a recommendation from NCI), but none of them to the IIIb stage. There are few related studies, most of them are retrospective, with a small number of patients included, heterogeneous population and surgical procedures; thereby, it is difficult to draw conclusions and make recommendations based on the evidence.
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Humanos , Feminino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/patologia , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/cirurgia , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/mortalidade , Taxa de SobrevidaRESUMO
Endometriosis, a highly prevalent gynecological disease, can lead to infertility in moderate to severe cases. Whether minimal stages are associated with infertility is still unclear. The purpose of this systematic review is to present studies regarding the association between pregnancy rates and the presence of early stages of endometriosis. Studies regarding infertility, minimal (stage I, American Society of Reproductive Medicine [ASRM]) and mild (stage II, ASRM) endometriosis were identified by searching on the MEDLINE database from 1985 to September 2011 using the following MESH terms: endometriosis; infertility; minimal; mild endometriosis; pregnancy rate. 1188 articles published between January of 1985 and November of 2011 were retrieved; based on their titles, 1038 citations were excluded. Finally, after inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 articles were selected to be part of this systematic review. Several reasons have been discussed in the literature to explain the impact of minimal endometriosis on fertility outcome, such as: ovulatory dysfunction, impaired folliculogenesis, defective implantation, decrease embryo quality, abnormal immunological peritoneal environment, and luteal phase problems. Despite the controversy involving the topic, the largest randomized control trial, published by Marcoux et al. in 1997 found a statistically different pregnancy rate after resection of superficial endometrial lesions. Earlier stages of endometriosis play a critical role in infertility, and most likely negatively impact pregnancy outcomes. Further studies into stage I endometriosis, especially randomized controlled trials, still need to be conducted.
RESUMO O objetivo desta revisão sistemática é apresentar estudos sobre a associação entre as taxas de gravidez e a presença de fases iniciais de endometriose. Estudos relacionados com a infertilidade e estágios mínimos e leves (estágios I,II, American Society of Reproductive Medicine [ASRM]) foram identificados por busca na base de dados MEDLINE, de 1985 a setembro de 2011. Os seguintes termos foram usados como palavras-chave: endometriose, infertilidade, taxa de gravidez; estágio mínimo; estágio leve de endometriose. Entre janeiro de 1985 e novembro de 2011, 1188 artigos foram recuperados; com base no título, 1038 citações foram excluídas e, finalmente, depois de critérios de inclusão e exclusão, 18 artigos foram selecionados para fazer parte desta revisão sistemática. Várias razões têm sido discutidas na literatura na tentativa de explicar o impacto da endometriose mínima no resultado da fertilidade, tais como: disfunção ovulatória, foliculogênese alterada prejudicada, defeito na implantação, baixa qualidade embrionária, ambiente peritoneal inflamatório e hostil e problemas da fase lútea. Apesar de toda polêmica envolvendo o tópico, o maior ensaio clínico randomizado foi publicado por Marcoux et al. Os autores encontraram uma taxa de gravidez estatisticamente significante após a ressecção de lesões superficiais de endometriose. Estágios iniciais de endometriose desempenham um papel crítico relacionado à infertilidade e, provavelmente proporcionam um impacto negativo nas taxas de gravidez em pacientes com endometriose. Outros estudos envolvendo estágios iniciais de endometriose, especialmente ensaios clínicos randomizados, ainda precisam ser realizados.