Diagnostic Performance of Preoperative Imaging in Endometrial Cancer

BACKGROUND

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies. Because the findings mentioned in radiogram interpretation reports issued by diagnostic radiologists influence treatment strategies, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of preoperative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpretation results in clinically relevant settings.

METHODS

The clinical records of patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer treated at Tohoku University Hospital from January 2012 to December 2021 were reviewed. The preoperative and pathologically estimated cancer stages were compared based on the results mentioned in the radiogram interpretation report.

RESULTS

The preoperative and postoperative cancer stages were concordant in 70.0% of the patients. By contrast, the cancer stage was underdiagnosed and overdiagnosed in 21.7% and 8.2% of the patients, respectively. The sensitivities of MRI for deep myometrial invasion, cervical stromal invasion, vaginal invasion, and adnexal metastasis were 65.1%, 58.2%, 33.3%, and 18.4%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for pelvic lymph node metastasis using a combination of CT and MRI were 40.9% and 98.4%, respectively. Those for para-aortic lymph node metastases using CT were 37.0% and 99.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The low sensitivity observed in this study clarified the limitations of preoperative diagnostic performance in current clinical practice.

Analysis of correlation of pre-therapeutic assessment and the final diagnosis in endometrial cancer: role of tumor volume in the magnetic resonance imaging

Objective

To evaluate whether the introduction of tumor volume as new parameter in the MRI assessment could improve both concordance between preoperative and postoperative staging, and the identification of histological findings.

Methods

A retrospective observational study with 127 patients with endometrial cancer (EC) identified between 2016 and 2021 at the Juan Ramon Jimenez University Hospital, Huelva (Spain) was carried out. Tumor volume was measured in three ways. Analyses of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were performed.

Results

Although preoperative MRI had an 89.6% and 66.7% sensitivity for the detection of deep mucosal invasion and cervical stroma infiltration, preoperative assessment had an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.517, underestimating tumor final stage in 12.6% of cases, with a poor agreement between preoperative MRI and postoperative staging (κ=0.082) and low sensitivity (14.3%) for serosa infiltration. The cut-off values for all three volume parameters had good/excellent AUC (0.73-0.85), with high sensitivity (70-83%) and specificity (64-84%) values for all histopathological variables. Excellent/good agreement was found all volume parameters for the identification of deep myometrial invasion (0.71), cervical stroma infiltration (0.80), serosa infiltration (0.81), and lymph node metastases (0.81).

Conclusion

Tumor volume measurements have good predictive capacity to detect histopathological findings that affect final tumor staging and might play a crucial role in the preoperative assessment of patients with endometrial cancer in the future.

Clinical issues of surgery for uterine endometrial cancer in Japan

OBJECTIVE

The mainstay of treatment for uterine endometrial cancer is surgery, and recurrent-risk cases require multidisciplinary treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

METHODS

The standard surgery for uterine endometrial cancer is hysterectomy and bilateral salpingooophorectomy, with additional retroperitoneal lymph node dissection and omentectomy, depending on the case. The appropriate treatment is determined based on the risk classification, such as the depth of invasion into the myometrium, diagnosis of histological type and grade, and risk assessment of lymph node metastasis.

RESULTS

Recently, minimally invasive surgery has been widely used not only in low-risk patients but also in intermediate- and high-risk patients. In low-risk patients, the possibility of ovarian preservation is discussed from a healthcare perspective for young women. Determining the need for retroperitoneal lymph node dissection based on sentinel lymph node evaluation may contribute in minimizing the incidence of post-operative lymphedema while ensuring accurate diagnosis of lymph node metastasis. Recently, many studies using sentinel lymph nodes have been reported for patients with uterine endometrial cancer, and the feasibility of sentinel lymph node mapping surgery has been proven. Unfortunately, sentinel lymph node biopsy and sentinel lymph node mapping surgery have not been widely adopted in surgery for uterine cancer in Japan. In addition, the search for biomarkers, such as RNA sequencing using The Cancer Genome Atlas, metabolic profile and lipidomic profile for early detection and prognostic evaluation, has been actively pursued.

CONCLUSIONS

Gynecologic oncologists expect to be able to provide uterine endometrial cancer patients with appropriate treatment that preserves their quality of life without compromising oncologic outcomes in the near future.

Can addition of frozen section analysis to preoperative endometrial biopsy and MRI improve identification of high-risk endometrial cancer patients?

Background

Surgeons sometimes have difficulty determining which result to favor when preoperative results (MRI + preoperative endometrial biopsy [pre-op EB]) differ from intraoperative frozen section histology (FS) results. Investigation of how FS can complement ordinary preoperative examinations like MRI and pre-op EB in identification of patients at high risk of lymph node metastasis (high-risk patients) could provide clarity on this issue. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the utility of pre-op EB, MRI and FS results and determine how to combine these results in identification of high-risk patients.

Methods

The subjects were 172 patients with endometrial cancer. Patients with a histological high-grade tumor (HGT), namely, grade 3 endometrioid cancer, clear cell carcinoma or serous cell carcinoma, or with any type of cancer invading at least half of the uterine myometrium were considered high-risk. Tumors invading at least half of the uterine myometrium were classified as high-stage tumors (HST). We compared (a) detection of HGT using pre-op EB versus FS, (b) detection of HST using MRI versus FS, and (c) identification of high-risk patients using MRI + pre-op EB versus FS. Lastly, we determined to what degree addition of FS results improves identification of high-risk patients by routine MRI + pre-op EB.

Results

(a) Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for detecting HGT were 59.6, 98.4 and 87.8% for pre-op EB versus 55.3, 99.2 and 87.2% for FS (P = 0.44). (b) These figures for detecting HST were 74.4, 83.0 and 80.8% for MRI versus 46.5, 99.2 and 86.0% for FS (P < 0.001). (c) These figures for identifying high-risk patients were 78.3, 85.4 and 82.6% for MRI + pre-op EB versus 55.1, 99.0 and 81.2% for FS (P < 0.001). The high specificity of FS improved the sensitivity of MRI + pre-op EB from 78.3 to 81.2%, but this difference was not statistically significant (P < 0.16).

Conclusion

Frozen section enables identification of high-risk patients with nearly 100% specificity. This advantage can be used to improve sensitivity for identification of high-risk patients by routine MRI + pre-op EB, although this improvement is not statistically significant.

Lymph node metastasis probability in young patients eligible for conservative management of endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVE

Endometrial cancer (EC) is a rare condition in young women. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of pelvic lymph node (LN) metastasis in young women with EC who are candidates for conservative management.

METHODS

Using the SEER database, a population-based analysis was conducted to identify women <45 years with grade 1, 2, or 3 endometrioid adenocarcinoma stage IA (FIGO 2009) who underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy with at least ten LNs removed. The LN macrometastases rate based on conventional histological diagnosis was analyzed according to tumor grade and myometrial invasion (MI) on final histology.

RESULTS

A cohort of 1284 women was analyzed. The LN metastasis rates were: 2/414 (0.5%) grade 1 EC without MI, 5/239 (2.1%) grade 2 or 3 EC without MI, 5/308 (1.6%) grade 1 EC with MI, and 14/323 (4.3%) grade 2 or 3 EC with MI. Tumor size was not correlated with LN metastasis probability.

CONCLUSIONS

Young patients eligible for conservative management have a low rate of LN macrometastasis, especially in stage IA without MI grade 1 EC. A systematic lymphadenectomy should not be performed in these patients. Prospective study evaluating the sentinel LN mapping in conservative management of EC could be performed to assess the LN micrometastasis rate.

The effect of myometrial invasion on prognostic factors and survival analysis in endometrial carcinoma

Background

We investigated the relationship between myometrial invasion and the prognostic factors on overall and progression free survival in endometrial carcinoma.

Methods

122 cases operated with endometrial cancer were included into the study. Progression-free survival and overall survival were evaluated according to degree of myometrial invasion. We also investigated the relationship between myometrial invasion and prognostic factors.

Results

The 5- year progression-free survival rate was 90 % in stage I, 66 % in stage II, 32 % in stage III and 60 % in stage IV. The 5- year overall survival rate was 95 % in stage I, 89 % in stage II, 49 % in stage III and 30 % in stage IV. The progression free survival and overall survival for patients with more than 50 % myometrial invasion were detected 67 % at 58 months and 66 % at 60 months, respectively. The clinicopathological variables that significantly correlated with myometrial invasion of more than 50 % were as follows: pelvic lymph node metastasis (p: 0,00029-OR: 11.2), cervical stromal invasion (p: 0008-OR:7.9), LVSI (p< 0.0001-OR: 16.5).

Conclusion

The depth of myometrial invasion is one of the most important prognostic indicators and determinants of therapy in endometrial cancer.

Assessment of Myometrial Invasion in Premenopausal Grade 1 Endometrial Carcinoma: Is Magnetic Resonance Imaging a Reliable Tool in Selecting Patients for Fertility-Preserving Therapy?

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in premenopausal women with G1 endometrial carcinoma.

METHODS

Twenty-six patients underwent T2W, diffusion weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced 3-T MRI. The degree of myometrial invasion was pathologically classified into no invasion, shallow (3 mm or less), and more. Two radiologists assessed myometrial invasion on MRI. Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, AUC, and interobserver agreement were analyzed.

RESULTS

For assessing myometrial invasion, mean accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, negative predictive values, and AUC, respectively, were as follows: 63%, 42%, 85%, 79%, 47%, and 0.75. Mean interobserver agreement was fair (k = 0.36). Shallow invasions were underestimated as no invasion on MRI in all 6 cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Magnetic resonance imaging produced false-negative result on half of patients. The misjudgments tended to happen in patients with shallow invasion.

Impact of Conservative Managements in Young Women With Grade 2 or 3 Endometrial Adenocarcinoma Confined to the Endometrium

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of ovarian and/or uterine preservation in young patients with grade 2 or 3 endometrial adenocarcinoma confined to the endometrium.

METHODS/MATERIALS

A population-based analysis was conducted. The SEER'17 Database was used to identify women younger than 45 years with grade 2 or 3 endometrial adenocarcinoma confined to the endometrium from 1983 to 2012. A cohort of 1106 women was included: 849 underwent hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy, 96 underwent hysterectomy with ovarian preservation, and 49 underwent uterine preservation. The demographics and survival rates according to the type of treatment administered were compared.

RESULTS

The 5-year overall survival probabilities were 94.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 92.8-96.2), 93.8% (95% CI, 85.8-97.4), and 78.2% (95% CI, 62.1-88.1) for patients who underwent hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy, ovarian preservation, and uterine preservation, respectively (P < 0.001).The 5-year cancer-related survival probabilities were 99.3% (95% CI, 98.6-99.9), 98.9% (95% CI, 96.9-99.9), and 86.2% (95% CI, 75.7-98.2) for patients who underwent hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy, ovarian preservation, and uterine preservation, respectively (P < 0.001).Patients who received uterine conservation had lower disease-specific (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 15.8 95% CI, 5.5-45.2) and overall survival probabilities (aHR, 6.6; 95% CI, 3.3-13.4) than did patients who underwent hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy. Ovarian conservation was not associated with decreased disease-specific (aHR, 1.45; 95% CI, 0.31-6.71) or overall (aHR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.17-1.90) survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Ovarian preservation has no impact on survival probability in patients with grade 2 or 3 endometrial cancer confined to the endometrium. On the contrary, physicians and patients should be aware of the worse prognosis associated with uterine preservation.

Role of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging and histological assessment in identifying patients with a low risk of endometrial cancer: a Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group ancillary study

Preoperative identification of individuals at low risk of lymph node metastasis is key to the proper management of endometrial cancer. This study evaluated the role of preoperative assessment based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histological analysis in identifying a group having a low risk of lymph node metastasis. Data of 529 patients with endometrial cancer were obtained from a prospective multicenter database, between January 2012 and December 2014. Clinical staging, based on MRI and histological analysis, was compared with final pathology results after the surgical staging procedure. The preoperative low-risk criteria, based on current guidelines from Korea, France, and Canada, and criteria used for fertility-sparing therapies, were applied to our multicenter cohort and the accuracy of each set of criteria for identifying group at low risk of lymph node metastasis was evaluated. When considering grades or MR stages separately, the overall agreement between preoperative and postoperative findings was poor (Kappa 0.45 for grades; 0.41 for stages). However, when combining these two parameters, the low-risk group, as defined by any of the guidelines, had an acceptable rate of lymph node metastasis (below 3%). The French guidelines identified 249 patients (47.1%) as being in the low-risk group. Criteria used to define fertility-sparing therapy candidates identified 48 patients (9.1%) among the study population, only one of whom had extra-uterine disease. This study shows that the current guidelines, using preoperative assessment based on MRI and histological analysis, can identify low-risk patients, who may be candidates for omitting lymphadenectomy.

Lymph node dissection in atypical endometrial hyperplasia

Objective:

The rate of concomitant endometrial carcinoma in patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia is high. We aimed to investigate the role of lymphadenectomy in deciding adjuvant treatment in patients with concomitant atypical endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma.

Material and Methods:

Women with atypical endometrial hyperplasia were enrolled in this retrospective study. Lymph node dissection was performed in only some patients who gave informed consent if their surgeon elected to do so, or if the intraoperative findings necessitated. The final histopathologic evaluations of surgical specimens were compared with endometrial biopsy results.

Results:

Eighty eligible patients were evaluated. Seventy-two (90%) patients had complex hyperplasia with atypia, and 8 (10%) patients had simple hyperplasia with atypia. Hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed to all patients; 37 also underwent lymph node dissection. Lymph node dissection was extended to the paraaortic region in 9 of 37 patients. The concomitant endometrial carcinoma rate was 50%. Two patients had lymph node metastasis. Among 40 cases of carcinoma, 17 had deep myometrial invasion and/or cervical or ovarian involvement or grade 2 tumors with superficial myometrial invasion on hysterectomy specimens; 27.5% of all carcinomas were stage Ib or higher.

Conclusion:

The concomitant endometrial carcinoma rate was high in patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia. Nearly half of these patients had risk factors for extrauterine spread. Lymph node dissection might be helpful to decide adjuvant treatment.

Histopathology Discrepancy of Preoperative Endometrial Sampling and Final Specimen: How Does This Influence Selective Lymph Node Dissection?

Objective

Preoperative histology is a major component in the perioperative selective lymph node (LN) dissection decision process. Discrepancy between preoperative endometrial sampling and final specimen histopathology is generally accepted. The goals of this project are to determine if discrepancy of histopathology is associated with alteration of adjuvant treatment or outcome.

Materials and Methods

We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of all patients undergoing surgery for endometrial cancer at a single institution from 2010 to 2014. All patients had preoperative endometrial sampling. Histopathology discrepancy was evaluated for potential in variation of perioperative LN dissection. Criteria for not performing LN dissection was defined as preoperative endometrioid histology, grade 1 or 2 lesion, myometrial invasion of 50% or less, and primary tumor diameter 2 cm or less.

Results

A total of 352 patients were identified; 44 were excluded because of no preoperative pathology or no residual disease on final pathology. Discrepancy of histopathology was noted in 64/308 (20.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 16.2%–25.3%) patients. Preoperative endometrioid histology was noted in 272 patients, and 17/272 (6.3%; 95% CI, 3.4%–9.1%) had preoperative sampling reviewed as a grade 1 or 2 endometrioid lesion and final specimen was upgraded to grade 3. Downstaging occurred in 3/272 (1.1%; 95% CI, 0%–2.3%) patients with preoperative grade 3 lesion and final specimen demonstrated grade 1 or 2 disease. All 3 patients' primary tumor diameter was greater than 2 cm and therefore received LN dissection. Histopathological discrepancy that would alter perioperative LN dissection decision based on the aforementioned criteria occurred in 2/272 (0.7%; 95% CI, 0%–1.8%).

Conclusions

Despite a 20% discrepancy of preoperative and postoperative histopathology, discrepancy that would alter a perioperative decision for LN dissection occurs in only 0.7% of cases in this retrospective single-institutional experience. Myometrial invasion and tumor size may be more influential than histology in LN selection criteria.

Practical issues related to uterine pathology: staging, frozen section, artifacts, and Lynch syndrome

This review covers three areas in endometrial tumor pathology: International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging, the use of frozen section, and Lynch syndrome. The section on FIGO staging will emphasize problems that practicing pathologists often confront, such as measuring the depth of myometrial invasion, assessing for the presence of cervical stromal invasion, detecting low-volume lymph node metastases, and recognizing synchronous endometrial and ovarian tumors and artifacts. The frozen section portion of this review will focus on the performance characteristics of intraoperative examination of the uterus to determine tumor grade and depth of myometrial invasion, including suggestions for alternative methods. The last portion of this review will provide an overview of Lynch syndrome and a discussion of the rationale and methods of screening for Lynch syndrome.

Preoperative and intraoperative assessment of myometrial invasion in endometrial cancer: comparison of magnetic resonance imaging and frozen sections

OBJECTIVE

To compare the diagnostic characteristics of the evaluation of myometrial invasion (MI) retrospectively between preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and intraoperative frozen sections.

DESIGN

A retrospective study.

SETTING

University hospital.

SAMPLE

201 women diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma.

METHODS

All women underwent preoperative MRI and 111 of them also underwent intraoperative frozen section assessment. The final pathological evaluation was used as the definitive diagnosis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

In women who underwent MRI and frozen sections (n = 111), the accuracies of detection of MI and of deep invasion (defined as ≥50% invasion) were compared.

RESULTS

The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of MRI for detection of MI were 65.8, 58.8, and 88.5%, and those in frozen sections were 90.1, 90.6, and 88.5%, respectively. The accuracy and sensitivity of frozen sections were significantly higher (p < 0.001, p < 0.001), whereas the specificity of the two methods did not differ (p = 1.000). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of MRI for detection of deep invasion were 83.8, 69.2, and 88.2%, and those of frozen sections were 93.7, 73.1, and 100.0%, respectively. The accuracy and specificity of frozen sections were significantly higher (p = 0.007 and p < 0.001, respectively), whereas sensitivity did not show a significant difference (p = 0.999).

CONCLUSION

In assessment of MI, the accuracy of frozen sections was significantly higher than that of MRI. Since the diagnostic characteristics differ between two methods, additional intraoperative frozen sections are recommended for more accurate assessment of MI when MRI is negative for the presence of any MI or positive for the presence of deep invasion.

Current therapy of patients with endometrial carcinoma. A critical review

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 18-FDG positron emission tomography ((18)FDG PET-CT), and computed tomography (CT) have demonstrated disappointing detectability of lymph node metastases in endometrial cancer. The treatment of choice in patients with endometrial cancer is hysterectomy and bilateral salpingoophorectomy. Above all, obese patients with comorbidity have benefited the most from laparoscopically assisted approaches. For inoperable patients in FIGO stage I/II, radiation remains an alternative to hysterectomy. The role of pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy is the most controversial issue in endometrial carcinoma treatment. The current spectrum of treatment ranges from no lymphadenectomy, exclusive pelvic or additional inframesentric paraaortic sampling, or complete pelvic to infrarenal paraaortic lymphadenectomy. The sentinel concept in patients with endometrial carcinoma is far from being introduced into routine clinical practice. Without a lymphadenectomy, decision making for adjuvant therapy remains a challenge, because no information is available from lymph node status and the reliability of pathologic grading is poor. For patients after hysterectomy with a low risk of local relapse (stage I/II without additional risk factors), vaginal brachytherapy is sufficient to prevent vaginal relapses. Adjuvant external beam irradiation (EBRT) in stage I/II demonstrated improved local control which impacted overall survival only in patients with high-risk features (higher age, grading myometrial infiltration). Stage IIIC patients seem to benefit from EBRT with regard to overall survival. In patients at high risk of progression (grade 3, MI > 50%, FIGO IIIC, unfavorable histology), multimodal treatment should be considered. The optimal substances and sequences are under investigation.