Uterine Papillary Serous Carcinoma Arising in a Polyp: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis on 75 Patients

Should Endometrial Cancer Treatment Be Centralized?

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract in Western and emerging countries. In 2012, new cancer cases numbered 319,605, and 76,160 cancer deaths were diagnosed worldwide. ECs are usually diagnosed after menopause; 70% of ECs are diagnosed at an early stage with a favorable prognosis and a 5-year overall survival rate of 77%. On the contrary, women with advanced or recurrent disease have extremely poor outcomes because they show a low response rate to conventional chemotherapy. EC is generally considered easy to treat, although it presents a 5-year mortality of 25%. Though the guidelines (GLs) recommend treatment in specialized centers by physicians specializing in gynecologic oncology, most women are managed by general gynecologists, resulting in differences and discrepancies in clinical management. In this paper we reviewed the literature with the aim of highlighting where the treatment of EC patients requires gynecologic oncologists, as suggested by the GLs. Moreover, we sought to identify the causes of the lack of GL adherence, suggesting useful changes to ensure adequate treatment for all EC patients.

The Many Faces of Serous Neoplasms and Related Lesions of the Female Pelvis: A Review

Ovarian serous tumors and related lesions are one of the most common conditions of the female genital tract. While ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma carries high mortality and adverse prognosis, most other serous lesions have better clinical behavior. In recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the nature and histogenesis of these lesions that has contributed to better and more precise clinical management. Most of the high-grade serous carcinomas involve the ovaries and/or peritoneum, although in most cases, their origin seems to be in the fallopian tube. This view is supported by the recognition of precursor lesions in the fallopian tube, such as p53 signature and serous tubular in situ carcinoma. This paper presents salient morphologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular data related to serous tumors and related lesions of the female pelvis and discusses the histogenetic interrelationship among these lesions in light of current knowledge.

Uterine serous carcinoma: role of surgery, risk factors and oncologic outcomes. Experience of a tertiary center

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate factors impacting survival outcomes in patients with uterine serous carcinoma (USC).

METHODS

Data of consecutive patients diagnosed with USC undergoing surgery between 2000 and 2020 at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan (Italy) were reviewed. Progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) outcomes were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard models.

RESULTS

Records of 147 consecutive patients meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Stage distribution was: 67 (45.6%) patients with early-stage with uterine confined disease and 80 (54.4%) with advanced stages disease. Minimally invasive surgery was performed in 43 patients (29.5%). The median follow-up period was 78.6 months (IQ range = 35.7-117.3 months). The overall recurrence rate was 41% (60 patients): 19/67 patients (28.4%) with early-stage disease and 41/80 patients (51.3%) with advanced stage. The 5-year PFS rate was 35.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27.5-44.7%). In multivariate analysis, age, BMI, depth of myometrial invasion, cytology, and optimal cytoreduction with postoperative residual tumor absent significantly impacted on PFS. The 5-year OS rates were 46.5% (95% CI: 38.1-56.8). The result of multivariate analysis showed that there was significant difference in OS based only on optimal cytoreduction and accuracy of retroperitoneal surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

In apparent early-stage USC, peritoneal and retroperitoneal staging allows to identify patients with disease harboring outside the uterus. Optimal cytoreduction is the most significant prognostic factor. Further collaborative studies are warranted in order to improve outcomes of USC patients.

High-grade endometrial carcinoma limited to the endometrium or a polyp: is adjuvant treatment necessary?

OBJECTIVE

High-grade endometrial carcinoma limited to the endometrium or a polyp is a rare clinical entity. Currently there is no consensus on standard treatment. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with type II endometrial carcinoma without myometrial infiltration or limited to a polyp.

METHODS

We retrospectively identified type II endometrial carcinoma (FIGO endometrioid grade 3, serous, clear cell, mixed and carcinosarcoma) with spread limited to the endometrium or a polyp from April 2013 to November 2017. Medical records were reviewed for the following information: age at diagnosis, patient characteristics, type of surgery, histology, stage according to FIGO 2009 classification, adjuvant treatments, and site of recurrence. Descriptive statistics and the Kaplan-Meier estimate were used for analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 25 patients with a type II stage IA adenocarcinoma were included. All were surgically staged with total hysterectomy, salpingo-oophorectomy, and lymph nodes assessment. The median age at diagnosis was 69 years. All patients had either disease limited to the endometrium (60%) or a polyp (40%). Only four patients had lymphovascular space invasion (16%). The median follow-up was 44 (range 2-67) months. Six patients (24%) received vault brachytherapy only and all others received no adjuvant treatment after surgery (n=19, 76%). Three patients (12%) experienced recurrences at 15, 21, and 55 months after surgery. Following systemic treatment all are alive and disease-free. The 3-year progression-free survival and overall survival were 91% and 100%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Expectant management with surveillance alone following surgery appears to be safe for patients with high-grade endometrial carcinoma limited to a polyp or the endometrium without myometrial invasion.

Minimal uterine serous carcinoma and endometrial polyp: a close clinicopathological relationship

Frequently involving an endometrial polyp, minimal uterine serous carcinoma (MUSC) represents the earliest recognizable forms of endometrial serous carcinoma. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive morphological and clinical outcome assessment of MUSC involving endometrial polyp. A total of 77 fully staged MUSCs involving endometrial polyp were identified, including 53 MUSCs confined to polyp and 24 nonpolyp confined tumors. Extrauterine disease was found in 17% (9/53) of polyp-confined MUSCs compared to 41.7% (10/24) of nonpolyp confined tumors (p = 0.02). Lymphovascular invasion was observed in 3.8% (2/53) of polyp-confined cases compared to 25% (6/24) of nonpolyp confined cases (p = 0.047). Lymph node metastasis was observed in 11.3% (6/53) of polyp-confined cases, compared to 29.2% (7/24) of nonpolyp confined cases (p = 0.058). Positive pelvic washing cytology was seen in 18.9% (10/53) of polyp-confined versus 37.5% (9/24) of nonpolyp confined tumors (p = 0.078). Overall, 58 of 77 (75.3%) patients had low tumor stage (57 stage I cases and 1 stage II case) and only two patients (3.5%) had a recurrence. In contrast, 19 of 77 (24.7%) patients had advanced stage (stage III or IV) disease and 17 (89.5%) patients had recurrence (p < 0.0001). Only one of 57 low-stage patient (1.7%) versus 11 of 19 high-stage patients (57.8%) died of the tumor (p < 0.0001). Five of 53 (9.4%) patients with polyp-confined MUSC and 7 of 24 (29.2%) patients with nonpolyp confined MUSC died of the disease (p = 0.03). In conclusion, while a small percentage of MUSCs exist without the involvement of an endometrial polyp, a close topographic relationship between MUSC and the endometrial polyp is confirmed in this largest series, supporting the theory that most if not all MUSCs arise in an EMP. Patients with MUSC without extrauterine spread have an excellent prognosis. Compared to patients with MUSC confined to an endometrial polyp, patients with MUSC extending to the background endometrium have a significantly higher risk for high-stage disease at presentation.

Combined Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy Improves Disease-Free Survival for Uterine Serous Cancer

Purpose

Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is a rare but aggressive endometrial cancer histology. We reviewed outcomes for patients with USC to identify the best adjuvant treatment strategy.

Methods and Materials

We retrospectively identified 162 patients with The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I-IVA USC treated at our institution. Baseline characteristics, treatment details, clinical outcomes, and toxicity data were recorded.

Results

Median follow-up was 3.4 years (0.3-26 years). A variety of adjuvant therapy strategies were employed: 14% no adjuvant therapy, 28% radiation alone, 15% chemotherapy alone, and 43% combined chemotherapy and radiation. Distant metastasis was the most common type of recurrence (37% at 5 years). For patients with stage I-IVA disease, there were no significant differences in outcomes by treatment type. For patients with stage I-II disease (70% of the cohort), disease-free survival was significantly higher after chemotherapy (alone or with radiation therapy, P = .005) and after combined chemotherapy and radiation compared with all other treatments (P = .025). Toxicity outcomes were favorable, with minimal grade 3 and no grade 4 or 5 events.

Conclusions

Patients with USC experience high rates of recurrence and mortality. Distant metastasis is the most common pattern of failure for all stages. For patients with early-stage disease, combined chemotherapy and radiation improves 5-year disease-free survival compared with either single adjuvant treatment alone or no adjuvant treatment. The relatively large group of patients with USC included in this study may account for our ability to detect this improvement whereas clinical trials have failed to do so, possibly owing to the relatively small percentages of patients with USC enrolled.

Pathogenesis and Clinical Management of Uterine Serous Carcinoma

Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is an aggressive variant of endometrial cancer that has not been well characterized. It accounts for less than 10% of all endometrial cancers and 80% of endometrial cancer–related deaths. Currently, staging surgery together with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, especially vaginal cuff brachytherapy, is the main treatment strategy for USC. Whole-exome sequencing combined with preclinical and clinical studies are verifying a series of effective and clinically accessible inhibitors targeting frequently altered genes, such as HER2 and PI3K3CA, in varying USC patient populations. Some progress has also been made in the immunotherapy field. The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway has been found to be activated in many USC patients, and clinical trials of PD-1 inhibitors in USC are underway. This review updates the progress of research regarding the molecular pathogenesis and putative clinical management of USC.

Distant recurrence in a patient with polyp-confined stage IA serous endometrial carcinoma treated with adjuvant chemotherapy: A case report and review of literature

Uterine serous carcinoma is a rare, high-risk histological subtype of endometrial cancer, and use of adjuvant treatment in early stage IA disease is inconsistent, especially when the tumor is confined entirely within an endometrial polyp. We herein present a case of extrauterine recurrence in a 67-year-old female with polyp-confined, stage IA uterine serous endometrial cancer. She underwent comprehensive surgical staging with the pathology returning a 5 cm uterine serous carcinoma confined completely to a 7 cm polyp with negative margins, negative myometrial and lymphovascular space invasion, and twenty-nine negative para-aortic and pelvic lymph nodes. She went on to complete six cycles of adjuvant carboplatin and paclitaxel. She presented with a new pleural effusion approximately 20 months after receiving definitive treatment, and a diagnosis of recurrent, metastatic uterine serous carcinoma was confirmed through cytology. A review of the literature suggests practice patterns involving adjuvant treatment for polyp-confined stage IA uterine serous carcinoma are highly variable. Prospective studies clarifying the utility of adjuvant treatment for polyp-confined disease in comprehensively staged patients, especially pertaining to the impact this pathology has on recurrence risk, are needed for these patients.