Prediction of Site-Specific Tumor Relapses in Patients With Stage I-II Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer

Pattern of recurrence in endometrial cancer. The murderer always returns to the scene of the crime

BACKGROUND

Endometrial cancer recurrence occurs in about 18 % of patients. This study aims to analyze the pattern recurrence of endometrial cancer and the relationship between the initial site of primary disease and the relapse site in patients undergoing surgical treatment.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed all surgically treated patients with endometrial cancer selecting those with recurrence. We defined primary site disease as uterus, lymph nodes, or peritoneum according to pathology analysis of the surgical specimen. The site of recurrence was defined as vaginal cuff, lymph nodes, peritoneum, and parenchymatous organs. Our primary endpoint was to correlate the site of initial disease with the site of recurrence.

RESULTS

The study enrolled 1416 patients. The overall recurrence rate was 17,5 % with 248 relapses included in the study. An increase of 9.9, 5.7, and 5.7 times in the odds of relapse on the lymph node, peritoneum, and abdominal parenchymatous sites respectively was observed in case of nodal initial disease (p < 0.001). A not significant difference in odds was observed in terms of vaginal cuff relapse (OR 0.9) between lymph node ad uterine primary disease (p = 0.78). An increasing OR of 8.7 times for nodal recurrences, 46.6 times for peritoneum, and 23.3 times for parenchymatous abdominal recurrences were found in the case of primary peritoneal disease (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Endometrial cancer tends to recur at the initial site of the disease. Intraoperative inspection of the adjacent sites of primary disease and targeted instrumental examination of the initial sites of disease during follow-up are strongly recommended.

Prognostic Factors for Survival in Patients with Carcinoma Endometrium

Francis. V. JamesObjective  The study aimed to see the clinical outcome and to identify prognostic factors for survival in patients with carcinoma endometrium. Methods  Patients registered at Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, with carcinoma endometrium from January 2009 to December 2013 were identified from hospital registry. Data regarding patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment schedules, and follow-up were collected using a structured proforma. Survival estimates were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analysis was done using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. Multivariate analysis using the Cox regression model was performed to determine the impact of prognostic factors on outcome. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 11. Results  The median follow-up of the 686 patients was 95 months (range 3-178 months).There were 432 stage 1 (63%), 100 stage II (14.6%), 108 stage III (15.7%), and 46 stage IV patients (6.7%). The 5-year overall survival was 89.2%. Prognostic factors for survival on univariate analysis were age 60 years or older, nonendometrioid histology, high-grade tumor, cervical stromal involvement, para-aortic node involvement, negative progesterone receptor expression, deep myometrial invasion advanced stage, surgery versus no surgery, serosal involvement, and ovarian and fallopian tube involvement. However, on multivariate analysis, age over 60 years, higher histological grade, advanced stage, and deep myometrial and parametrial invasion were associated with significantly poorer survival. Conclusion  We found that age over 60 years at presentation, higher grade, advanced stage, deep myometrial invasion, and parametrial invasion were associated with poorer survival.

Assessing Tumor Size by MRI and Pathology in Type I Endometrial Carcinoma to Predict Lymph Node Metastasis

Introduction

Lymphatic spread is the most common route of spread of endometrial carcinoma, and the most frequently involved lymph nodes are those of the external iliac group. MRI is one of the best imaging tools for the preoperative evaluation of patients with endometrial carcinoma. The objective of the current study is to analyze the relationship between tumor size and lymph node metastasis in patients with type I endometrial carcinoma.

Methods

This is a prospective observational study performed in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. The duration of the study was from January 2020 to January 2021. During this period, 86 patients with biopsy-proven type I endometrial carcinoma were selected. Tumor size was measured by MRI. All participants underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy. Histopathological evaluation was performed according to the College of American Pathologists (CAP) protocols, and staging was performed using the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system. Lymph nodes were considered positive or negative, irrespective of their number.

Result

Of the 86 patients, 25 (29.1%) had positive lymph node metastasis. The mean tumor size with positive lymph node metastasis by MRI and histopathology was 7.86 cm and 10.21 cm, respectively. Tumor size determined by MRI and histopathology was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively). Tumor size was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (r = 0.715). The cutoff value of >6.5 cm by MRI was established as the statistically significant differentiator of lymph node metastasis. The calculated sensitivity and specificity were 88% and 90.16%, respectively, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.920. The cutoff value of >8 cm by histopathology was established as the statistically significant differentiator of lymph node metastasis. The calculated sensitivity and specificity were 80% and 88.52%, respectively, with an AUC of 0.907.

Conclusion

Our results showed that lymph node metastasis in patients with type I endometrial carcinoma can be predicted by tumor size. This may help incorporate adequate surgical skills and management plans in the treatment course of type I endometrial carcinoma.

Obesity and mortality among endometrial cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Excess body fat is a major risk factor for endometrial cancer incidence, but its impact on recurrence and survival remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the association between excess body fat with recurrence, cancer-specific, and all-cause mortality among endometrial cancer survivors. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases up to July 2021. Risk of bias was assessed with the Ottawa Newcastle Scale. Random effects models estimated pooled hazard ratios for the main associations between body mass index (BMI) and survival outcomes and stratified by endometrial cancer type. Potential heterogeneity and publication bias were evaluated with sensitivity analyses, funnel plots, and Egger's test. Forty-six studies were included, of which 45 estimated body fat with BMI and six used direct waist circumference measures or CT/MRI scans. Higher BMI (≥30 kg/m² ) was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR = 1.34, 95%CI = 1.12-1.59) and recurrence (HR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.06-1.56). In sub-group analysis, associations between higher BMI and all-cause mortality were observed for both Types I and II survivors, while recurrence associations were only significant among Type I cases. Obesity at endometrial cancer diagnosis was associated with increased cancer recurrence and all-cause mortality among endometrial cancer survivors but not endometrial cancer-specific mortality.

Association of Myometrial Invasion With Lymphovascular Space Invasion, Lymph Node Metastasis, Recurrence, and Overall Survival in Endometrial Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of 79 Studies With 68,870 Patients

Background

Myometrial invasion has been demonstrated to correlate to clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in endometrial cancer. However, not all the studies have the consistent results and no meta-analysis has investigated the association of myometrial invasion with lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), lymph node metastasis (LNM), recurrence, and overall survival (OS). Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between myometrial invasion and clinicopathological characteristics or overall survival in endometrial cancer.

Materials and Methods

A search of Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science was carried out to collect relevant studies from their inception until June 30, 2021. The quality of each included study was evaluated using Newcastle–Ottawa scale (NOS) scale. Review Manager version 5.4 was employed to conduct the meta-analysis.

Results

A total of 79 articles with 68,870 endometrial cancer patients were eligible including 9 articles for LVSI, 29 articles for LNM, 8 for recurrence, and 37 for OS in this meta-analysis. Myometrial invasion was associated with LVSI (RR 3.07; 95% CI 2.17–4.35; p < 0.00001), lymph node metastasis (LNM) (RR 4.45; 95% CI 3.29–6.01; p < 0.00001), and recurrence (RR 2.06; 95% CI 1.58–2.69; p < 0.00001). Deep myometrial invasion was also significantly related with poor OS via meta-synthesis of HRs in both univariate survival (HR 3.36, 95% CI 2.35–4.79, p < 0.00001) and multivariate survival (HR 2.00, 95% CI 1.59–2.53, p < 0.00001). Funnel plot suggested that there was no significant publication bias in this study.

Conclusion

Deep myometrial invasion correlated to positive LVSI, positive LNM, cancer recurrence, and poor OS for endometrial cancer patients, indicating that myometrial invasion was a useful evaluation criterion to associate with clinical outcomes and prognosis of endometrial cancer since depth of myometrial invasion can be assessed before surgery. The large scale and comprehensive meta-analysis suggested that we should pay more attention to myometrial invasion in clinical practice, and its underlying mechanism also deserves further investigation.

Nomogram for Predicting Recurrence-Free Survival in Chinese Women with Endometrial Cancer after Initial Therapy: External Validation

This study aimed at developing an available recurrence-free survival (RFS) model of endometrial cancer (EC) for accurate and individualized prognosis assessment. A training cohort of 520 women with EC who underwent initial surgical treatment and an external validation cohort of 445 eligible EC patients from 2006 to 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to develop nomograms for predicting recurrence. The concordance index (C-index) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated to determine the discrimination of RFS prognostic scoring systems. Calibration plots were generated to examine the performance characteristics of the predictive nomograms. Regression analysis revealed that an advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, histological grade 3, primary tumor diameter ≥2 cm, and positive peritoneal cytology were independent prognostic factors for RFS in EC in the training set. The nomograms estimated RFS according to these four variables, with a C-index of 0.860, which was superior to that of FIGO stage (2009 criteria), at 0.809 (P=0.034), in the training cohort. Encouragingly, consistent results were observed in the validation set, with a C-index of 0.875 for the nomogram and a C-index of 0.833 for the FIGO staging (P=0.0137). Furthermore, the calibrations of the nomograms predicting 3- and 5-year RFS strongly corresponded to the actual survival outcome. In conclusion, this study developed an available nomogram with effective external validation and relatively appreciable discrimination and conformity for the accurate assessment of 3- and 5-year RFS in Chinese women with EC.

Clinicopathologic Features and Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Stage I, High-Risk Histology or High-Grade Endometrial Cancer after Primary Staging Surgery: A Taiwanese Gynecologic Oncology Group Study

To investigate the clinicopathological features and treatment outcomes in patients with stage I, high-risk endometrial cancer. Patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I, papillary serous, clear cell, or grade 3 endometrioid carcinoma treated between 2000 and 2012 were analyzed for the clinical and pathological factors in relation to prognosis. A total of 267 patients (stage IA; n = 175, stage IB; n = 92) were included. Among the clinicopathological features, stage and age were significant prognostic factors. The recurrence rate and overall survival for stage IB versus IA were 22.8% versus 9.1% (p = 0.003) and 149.7 months versus 201.8 months (p < 0.001), respectively. The patients >60 years of age also had a higher recurrence rate (21.7% versus 9.7%, p = 0.008) and poorer survival (102.0 months versus 196.8 months, p = 0.001) than those ≤60 years of age. Distant recurrence (64.9%) occurred more frequently than local recurrence (24.3%) and local combined with distant recurrence (10.8%) (p < 0.001). The postoperative treatment modality had no impact on tumor recurrence rate, recurrence site, or overall survival. Distant recurrence is a major cause of treatment failure in patients with stage I, high-risk endometrial cancer. However, current adjuvant treatment appeared to have little effect in preventing its occurrence.