Prospective study of fertility-sparing treatment with chlormadinone acetate for endometrial carcinoma and atypical hyperplasia in young women

Antitumor progestins activity: Cytostatic effect and immune response

Progestins are used to treat some hormone-sensitive tumors. This review discusses the mechanisms of progestins' effects on tumor cells, the differences in the effects of progesterone and its analogs on different tumor types, and the influence of progestins on the antitumor immune response. Progestins cause a cytostatic effect, but at the same time they can suppress the antitumor immune response, and this can promote the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells. Such progestins as dienogest, megestrol acetate and levonorgestrel increase the activity of NK-cells, which play a major role in the body's fight against tumor cells. The use of existing progestins and the development of new drugs with gestagenic activity may hold promise in oncotherapy.

The role of hysteroscopy in fertility preservation in endometrial cancer and atypical endometrial hyperplasia: a semi-systematic literature review

PURPOSE

Endometrial premalignancies are among the common reasons for outpatient gynecology visits among women in reproductive ages. Due to the continued increase in global obesity incidence among them, endometrial malignancies are expected to become even further prevalent. Hence, fertility-sparing interventions are essential and needed. In this semi-systematic literature review, we aimed to investigate the role of hysteroscopy in fertility preservation in endometrial cancer and atypical endometrial hyperplasia. Our secondary goal is to analyze the pregnancy outcomes following fertility preservation.

METHODS

We conducted a computed search in PubMed. We included original research articles including hysteroscopic interventions in pre-menopausal patients with endometrial malignancies and premalignancies who underwent fertility-preserving treatments. We collected data on medical treatment, response, pregnancy outcomes, and hysteroscopy.

RESULTS

Of the query results (n = 364), our final analysis included 24 studies. Overall, 1186 patients with endometrial premalignancies and endometrial cancer (EC) were included. More than half of the studies were retrospective design. They included almost ten different forms of progestins. Of the reported pregnancies (n = 392), the overall pregnancy rate was 33.1%. The majority of the studies used operative hysteroscopy (87.5%). Only three (12.5%) reported their hysteroscopy technique in detail. Although more than half of the studies did not provide any information on adverse effects due to hysteroscopy, there were no serious adverse effects among the reported ones.

CONCLUSION

Hysteroscopic resection may increase the success rate of fertility-preserving treatment of EC and atypical endometrial hyperplasia. The clinical significance of the theoretical concern of the dissemination of cancer is not known. Standardization of the use of hysteroscopy in fertility-preserving treatment is needed.

[Application in France of the 2021 European recommendations on endometrial cancer]

The latest European recommendations of the European Societies of Gynecological Oncology (ESGO), Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and Anatomopathology (ESP) concerning the management of patients with endometrial cancer were published in 2021. On behalf of the French Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SFOG) and the SFOG campus, we wish to summarize for the French-speaking readership the main measures with a more specific application for France. We also incorporate data from a Delphi survey conducted with a panel of French and French-speaking Swiss experts. The data presented in this article relate to histo-molecular characteristics, radiological data of endometrial cancer, and management of low-risk, intermediate-risk, intermediate-high-risk, and metastatic cancers. The aim of this review article is to show the application of the latest international recommendations to clinicians and pathologists for the implementation of these recommendations.

Less is more in endometrial cancer (SLN, conservative treatment, radical hysterectomy, molecular classification)

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The management of endometrial cancer has known many evolutions within the last decades. In this review, we aim to summarize recent evolutions (mainly toward less aggressive management) that have occurred in the management of endometrial cancer.

RECENT FINDINGS

Enhanced by molecular classification, the determination of lymph node status, in young women, in case of cervical invasion, the treatment is evolving toward a less aggressive strategy.

SUMMARY

The predictive value and the safety of sentinel lymph node biopsy explain why most societies propose to abandon systematic pelvic and para aortic lymphadenectomy. For young women, the safety of fertility preservation is now well established and efficient protocols have been validated. In stage II endometrial cancer (stromal cervical invasion), radical hysterectomy appears excessive. The Cancer Genome Atlas classification increases prognostic evaluation in association with the traditional pathological classification and permits to tailor adjuvant treatment more accurately.