Can proliferation biomarkers reliably predict recurrence in World Health Organization 2003 defined endometrial stromal sarcoma, low grade?

Low-Grade Uterine Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma: Prognostic Analysis of Clinico-Pathological Characteristics, Surgical Management, and Adjuvant Treatments. Experience From Two Referral Centers

Objective

Low-grade uterine endometrial stromal sarcoma (LG-ESS) is a rare tumor characterized by an overall good survival but showing a indolent behavior and a variable risk of recurrence. There is no clear consensus on the optimal management of these tumors and no prognostic or predictive factors have been established. With this study, we evaluated the prognostic relevance of several clinical, surgical, and pathological features in patients affected by LG-ESS to identify risk factors associated with recurrence.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 52 LG-ESS cases, treated from January 1st, 1994, to May 31st, 2020, in two referral centers. The relationship between recurrence and clinicopathological characteristics as well as surgical treatment was investigated. Risk of recurrence and disease-free survival (DFS) were estimated by Cox regression and the Kaplan-Meier analysis, respectively.

Results

Of 52 patients with LG-ESS, 8 experienced recurrence (15%). The median follow-up was 100 months (SD ± 96, range: 15–336). By univariate analysis, fragmentation/morcellation, tumor size, FIGO stage, higher mitotic count, presence of necrosis, and lymphovascular space invasion (LSVI) resulted associated with a poorer outcome. Conversely, the surgical modality (laparotomic vs laparoscopic and hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy vs local excision) and pelvic lymphadenectomy were not. Even the different modalities of adjuvant therapy (hormonal therapy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy) showed no prognostic significance. Tumor fragmentation/morcellation and higher mitotic count resulted independent prognostic variables at multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

This data supports the avoidance of any type of morcellation if LG-ESS is suspected preoperatively. Higher mitotic count and, possibly, tumor size, advanced FIGO stage, necrosis, and LVSI could be exploited to tailor the adjuvant therapy, but these results need to be confirmed in larger prospective studies.

Prognostic Value of Ki-67 Index in Patients With Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma

Objective

The Ki-67 index is used to evaluate cell proliferation activity, which is related to tumor progression, metastasis, and prognosis. We aimed to explore the prognostic value of Ki-67 index in endometrial stromal sarcoma and to explore the optimal cut-off value of Ki-67 index for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma.

Methods

A total of 82 patients with endometrial stromal sarcoma who were treated in our hospital were collected. Clinicopathological data of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. Ki-67 index was detected by the immunohistochemical method. Receiver operating characteristic curve and the Youden index were performed to determine the optimal cut-off value of Ki-67 index for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma. The Cox regression was performed to analyze risk factors affecting prognosis of endometrial stromal sarcoma. The Kaplan–Meier method and Log-rank test were performed to analyze the survival of patients.

Results

The optimal cut-off value of Ki-67 index for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma was 35%. The results of univariate analysis showed that high Ki-67 index (≥35%) was statistically significantly bound up with shorter progress free survival and overall survival. The results of multivariate analysis showed that Ki-67 index (P = 0.001) and ovarian preservation (P = 0.040) were independent prognostic factors of progress free survival.

Conclusions

A Ki-67 index cut-off of 35% was optimal for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma. Ki-67 index may be a useful prognostic marker in endometrial stromal sarcoma.

The prognosis of recurrent low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: a retrospective cohort study

Background

The prognosis of recurrent low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LGESS) is little known. This study was to investigate the survival outcomes of a cohort of patients with recurrent LGESS.

Methods

Patients with primary LGESS diagnosed and treated for first recurrence confirmed by histology in the study center from February 2012 to June 2019 were retrospectively included. The progression-free interval (PFI) after the last treatment for first recurrence and overall survival (OS) since the diagnosis of first recurrence, which were followed up to June 1, 2020, were compared between groups of various therapy modalities.

Results

Fifty-six patients were included, and 43 patients (76.8%) had definite follow-up outcomes. The 5-year PFI and OS rates were 30.0% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 29.2–30.8) and 75.0% (68.0–82.0), respectively. In univariate analysis, only fertility-sparing treatment, ovarian preservation and surgical treatment had a significant impact on the PFI (hazard ratio [HR] 4.5, 3.1, and 0.2; 95% CI 1.5–13.1, 1.3–7.3, and 0.1–0.7; and p = 0.006, 0.009 and 0.006, respectively), but no factor was found to be associated with increased mortality risk. After adjusted with hormone treatment or chemotherapy, surgical treatment had significant effectiveness on OS (HR 0.3 and 0.3, 95% CI 0.1–1.0 and 0.1–1.0, p = 0.045 and 0.049, respectively). None of the patients with fertility-sparing treatment had successful conception, and all experienced repeated relapse.

Conclusion

For patients with recurrent LGESS, fertility-sparing treatment or ovarian preservation should not be provided. Surgery is the treatment of choice, and hormone treatment and/or chemotherapy was effective for the survival benefits of surgical treatment.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13023-021-01802-8.

Evaluation of phospho-histone H3 in Asian triple-negative breast cancer using multiplex immunofluorescence

PURPOSE

We used multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) to determine whether mitotic rate represents an independent prognostic marker in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Secondary aims were to confirm the prognostic significance of immune cells in TNBC, and to investigate the relationship between immune cells and proliferating tumour cells.

METHODS

A retrospective Asian cohort of 298 patients with TNBC diagnosed from 2003 to 2015 at the Singapore General Hospital was used in the present study. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast cancer samples were analysed on tissue microarrays using mIF, which combined phospho-histone H3 (pHH3) expression with cytokeratin (CK) and leukocyte common antigen (CD45) expression to identify tumour and immune cells, respectively.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis showed that a high pHH3 index was associated with significantly improved overall survival (OS; p = 0.004), but this was not significantly associated with disease-free survival (DFS; p = 0.22). Similarly, multivariate analysis also revealed that a pHH3 positive count of > 1 cell per high-power field in the malignant epithelial compartment was an independent favourable prognostic marker for OS (p = 0.033) but not for DFS (p = 0.250). Furthermore, a high CD45 index was an independent favourable prognostic marker for DFS (p = 0.018), and there was a significant positive correlation between CD45 and pHH3 index (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, 0.250; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Mitotic rates as determined by pHH3 expression in epithelial cells are significantly associated with improved survival in TNBC. mIF analysis of pHH3 in combination with CK and CD45 could help clinicians in prognosticating patients with TNBC.

Ewing's sarcoma of the cervix: A case report of an unusual diagnosis in pregnancy treated with surgery, adjuvant VIDE and radiotherapy

Ewing's sarcoma of the cervix is a rare entity and presents with considerable challenges in diagnosis and therapy. Herein, we report a case of a cervical Ewing's sarcoma presenting with FIGO stage Ib, diagnosed during the first trimester of the patient's pregnancy. Imaging with CT scans, MRI of her abdomen and PET-CT verified the locoregional extension of the tumor. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and RT-PCR detected the pathognomonic EWS/FLI fusion gene. Favorable prognostic factors regarding the stage, clinocopathological and molecular characteristics of the tumor are also described. Due to the rarity of the disease, at present, there is no universal consensus on the optimal therapeutic approach. The literature has been reviewed and the therapeutic schemes and available clinical data have been discussed. The patient presented in this case report was treated aggressively with tri-modality therapy and underwent radical hysterectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with Vincristine-Ifosfamide-Doxorubicin-Etoposide and radiotherapy. The patient remains free of this disease 42 months following the diagnosis of her tumor.

Management of uterine sarcomas and prognostic indicators: real world data from a single-institution

Background

Uterine sarcomas consist a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal gynecological malignancies with unclear therapeutic recommendations and unspecific but poor prognosis, since they usually metastasize and tend to recur very often, even in early stages.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed all female patients with uterine sarcomas treated in our institution over the last 17 years. Clinico-pathological data, treatments and outcomes were recorded. Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted and time-to-event analyses were estimated using Cox regression.

Results

Data were retrieved from 61 women with a median age of 53 (range: 27–78) years, at diagnosis. Fifty-one patients were diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma (LMS), 3 with high grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS), 5 with undifferentiated uterine sarcoma (UUS), 1 with Ewing sarcoma (ES) and 1 with Rhabdomyosarcoma (RS). 24 cases had stage I, 7 stage II, 14 stage III and 16 stage IV disease. Median disease-free survival (DFS) in adjuvant approach was 18.83 months, and median overall survival (OS) 31.07 months. High mitotic count (> 15 mitoses) was significantly associated with worse OS (P < 0.001) and worse DFS (P = 0.028).

Conclusions

Mitotic count appears to be independent prognostic factor while further insights are needed to improve adjuvant and palliative treatment of uterine sarcomas.

18F-FDG/18F-FES standardized uptake value ratio determined using PET predicts prognosis in uterine sarcoma

We investigated whether 16α-[¹⁸F]-fluoro-17β-estradiol (¹⁸F-FES) and ¹⁸F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) uptake measured using positron emission tomography (PET) predicted prognosis in 18 patients with different histological subtypes of uterine sarcoma. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) and ¹⁸F-FDG/¹⁸F-FES SUV ratios were determined, and their correlations with progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were examined. Ten patients died from local recurrence or metastasis, and one more experienced recurrence, during the at least 36-month follow-up period. Patients with higher ¹⁸F-FDG SUVs (> 5.5) had worse OS (p = 0.007) and tended toward worse PFS (p = 0.11), while patients with lower 18F-FES SUVs (≤ 1.5) had worse PFS (p = 0.03) and tended toward worse OS (p = 0.19). Patients with ¹⁸F-FDG/¹⁸F-FES ratios > 2.6 had worse PFS (p = 0.009) and OS (p = 0.005). The 5-year PFS and OS rates were 75% and 88% for patients with lower ratios, but were only 10% and 20% for those with higher ratios. These results suggest that pretreatment tumor ¹⁸F-FDG/¹⁸F-FES ratio is useful for predicting the prognosis of uterine sarcoma patients.

Recent Developments in Surgical Pathology of the Uterine Corpus

There have been several updates recently on the classification of uterine tumors. Endometrial carcinomas have traditionally been divided into 2 types, but some are difficult to classify and do not fit readily into either of the currently recognized categories. The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network has recently defined 4 new categories of endometrial cancer on the basis of mutational spectra, copy number alteration, and microsatellite instability, which might provide independent prognostic information beyond established risk factors. The Society of Gynecologic Oncology, moreover, now recommends systematic screening of every patient with endometrial cancer for Lynch syndrome. The new definition of high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma disregards the number of mitotic figures as a primary diagnostic criterion and instead specifies moderate atypia still resembling stromal origin but lacking the pleomorphism of undifferentiated uterine sarcoma; these tumors also harbor a JAZF1-SUZ12 gene rearrangement. Mitotic count, atypia, and coagulative necrosis are the main histologic criteria that define leiomyosarcoma. Determining the type of necrosis can be very challenging in patients receiving various treatment modalities for symptomatic fibroids before myomectomy, since key histologic features of ischemic-type necrosis are often absent. Ancillary stains including p16, p53, MIB-1, trichrome, and reticulin may be helpful in tumors harboring necrosis that is difficult to classify. Minimally invasive gynecologic surgeries have introduced histologic artifacts that complicate the diagnosis. It is essential to recognize these as procedure-related artifacts to avoid upstaging tumors and triggering unnecessary adjuvant treatment.

Can PPH3 be helpful to assess the discordant grade in primary and metastatic enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors?

Therapeutic strategy in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) is based on histological characteristics of the primary tumor (PT), even in case of metastatic disease. Our aim was to compare the tumor grade between PT and their liver metastases (LM) in patients with enteropancreatic NETs. Forty-one patients treated for sporadic NETs (10 pancreatic, 31 intestinal) were included. All presented synchronous (35) or metachronous (6) LM. Tumor grade was evaluated for PT and LM according to the WHO classification, using Ki-67 labeling and mitotic count (MC) evaluated with or without phospho-histone H3 (PPH3). Tumor grade differed between primary and metastatic tumor in 16/41 patients (39 %), with an increase of grade in 13 of them (32 %). The median Ki-67, MC, and PPH3 in metastases were statistically higher than in PT (p = 0.0002, 0.02, and 0.01). In 17 of 65 cases tested with PPH3 (26 %), this antibody was more efficient in assessing the grade compared to the usual MC, and in 2/65 cases compared to the Ki-67. A better correlation was observed between Ki-67 and PPH3 (p = 0.0001) than between Ki-67 and MC without immunohistochemistry. There is a significant difference in tumor grade between primary and metastatic NETs, underlining the necessity of a systematic biopsy on LM for patient management. Moreover, PPH3 appears to be a powerful antibody to assess the MC and the tumor grade much more accurately when associated with Ki-67.

A prognosis based classification of undifferentiated uterine sarcomas: identification of mitotic index, hormone receptors and YWHAE-FAM22 translocation status as predictors of survival

Undifferentiated uterine sarcomas (UUS) are rare tumors with a heterologous biology and a poor prognosis. The goal of this study was to examine clinicopathology, biomarkers and YWHAE-FAM22 translocation status, in the prognosis of these tumors. Twenty-six cases of UUS were included. All original slides were rereviewed and age at diagnosis, tumor stage, "Kurihara" diagnosis, mitotic index, presence of necrosis and grade of nuclear atypia were recorded. Additionally, a tissue microarray was constructed from 22 of the cases, and the protein biomarkers P53, P16, Ki-67, Cyclin-D1, ER, PR and ANLN were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. All tumors were evaluated for the presence of a YWHAE-FAM translocation; the translocation was demonstrated in the three Cyclin-D1 positive tumors. Follow-up data in the form of overall survival were available on all patients. These tumors could be divided into two prognostic groups, a high mitotic index group (10 cases, M = 36.8, SD = 5.4) and a low mitotic index group (16 cases, M = 8.7, SD = 5.8). These two groups showed a statistically significant difference in prognosis. The expression of ER, PR or presence of the YWHAE-FAM22 translocation correlated with low mitotic index and an additionally improved prognosis, although the number of cases was small. These results indicate that UUS can be divided into two prognostic groups using mitotic index as a primary criteria, followed by expression of either ER, PR or the presence of a YWHAE-FAM22 translocation as a secondary criteria. This study demonstrates the presence of statistically significant prognostic subgroups within UUS, and provides treatment insights.

Molecular mechanisms of endometrial stromal sarcoma and undifferentiated endometrial sarcoma as premises for new therapeutic strategies

Endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) and undifferentiated endometrial sarcoma (UES) are very rare gynecologic malignancies. Due to the rarity and heterogeneity of these tumors, little is known about their epidemiology, pathogenesis, and molecular pathology. Our previous studies have described deregulation of histone deacetylases expression in ESS/UES samples. Some of these enzymes can be inhibited by substances which are already approved for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. On the basis of published data, they may also provide a therapeutic option for ESS/UES patients. Our review focuses on molecular mechanisms of ESS/UES. It describes various aspects with special emphasis on alteration of histone deacetylation and its possible relevance for novel therapies.