Prognostic evaluation of lymph-vascular space invasion in patients with endometrioid and non-endometrioid endometrial cancer: A multicenter study

INTRODUCTION

The prognostic value of lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) on endometrial cancer (EC) remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the impact of LVSI on patients with endometrioid and non-endometrioid EC in China.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyzed EC patients who underwent surgery from 2010 to 2019 in seven Chinese hospitals retrospectively and stratified patients based on histopathologic types and LVSI status. Endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Propensity score matching (PSM) algorithm was used to balance the confounding factors. The survival was examined using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to find prognostic independent risk factors.

RESULTS

Among 3715 EC patients, LVSI positive rate was 9.31% (346/3715). After matching, LVSI present group had shorter DFS (P = 0.005), and similar OS (P = 0.656) than LVSI absent group for endometrioid EC patients. For non-endometrioid EC patients, there was no statistical difference in either DFS (P = 0.536) or OS (P = 0.512) after matching. The multivariate Cox analysis showed that LVSI was an independent risk factor of DFS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.62, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.35-5.10, P = 0.005] and not OS (HR 1.24, 95%CI 0.49-3.13, P = 0.656) for endometrioid EC patients. It was not a prognostic factor of either DFS (HR 1.28, 95%CI 0.58-2.81, P = 0.539) or OS (HR 1.33, 95%CI 0.55-3.13, P = 0.515) for non-endometrioid EC patients.

CONCLUSION

LVSI is an adverse prognostic factor for endometrioid EC patients and has no impact on non-endometrioid EC patients. Necessity of postoperative adjuvant therapy based on LVSI needs to be carefully considered for non-endometrioid EC patients.

Prognostic value of three-tiered scoring system for lymph-vascular space invasion in endometrial cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) status on the prognosis of endometrial cancer (EC) according to a three-tiered scoring system for LVSI.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), and Clinical Trials.gov were searched from inception to September 1st, 2023. The analysis was conducted using STATA 16.0.

RESULTS

A total of 9 studies with 4456 EC patients were included in the analysis. No LVSI was found in 72% of EC patients (95% CI 0.65-0.79), while focal and substantial LVSI were present in 16% (95% CI 0.11-0.21) and 13% (95% CI 0.08-018) of patients, respectively. Compared to the no LVSI group, the focal and substantial LVSI groups had poorer overall survival (for focal LVSI: HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.02-1.74; for substantial LVSI: HR 2.51, 95% CI 1.61-3.90), poorer disease-free survival (for substantial LVSI: HR 2.86, 95% CI 1.21-6.77), and an increased risk of recurrence, including pelvic recurrence (for focal LVSI: HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.03-4.07; for substantial LVSI: HR 6.06, 95% CI 3.31-11.08), distant recurrence (for focal LVSI: HR 2.04, 95% CI 1.42-2.92; for substantial LVSI: HR 3.36, 95% CI 2.35-4.793), and lymph node involvement (for focal LVSI: OR 3.52, 95% CI 1.339.34; for substantial LVSI: OR 5.42, 95% CI 2.78-10.58). Substantial LVSI was more prone to pelvic recurrence (HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.05-3.15) and distant recurrence (HR 2.21, 95% CI 1.48-3.28) than focal LVSI.

CONCLUSIONS

EC patients with focal and substantial LVSI had poorer survival, recurrence, and a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis than patients without LVSI. The substantial LVSI group was associated with even worse prognosis than the focal LVSI group. The three-tiered LVSI scoring system might effectively predict the prognosis of EC and guide clinical decision-making.

PROTOCOL REGISTRATION

CRD 42023451793.

Does lymph node assessment change the prognostic significance of substantial LVSI and p53 status in endometrial endometrioid carcinoma?

OBJECTIVE

The PORTEC-2 update suggested that substantial lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) and abnormal p53 expression (p53abnl) predict for poorer outcomes and that these patients should be treated with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). We aim to determine if patients with these risk factors who undergo a lymph node (LN) assessment show similar outcomes.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 126 patients with FIGO 2009 stage IA grade 3, stage IB grade 1-2, and stage IIIC (positive LN but no other stage II/III risk factors) endometrioid endometrial cancer who underwent LN assessment. Local (LR), regional recurrences (RR), and distant metastases were analyzed using competing risk methods, and overall survival (OS) was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier.

RESULTS

Median follow-up time was 37.2 months. OS was significantly different between patients with and without p53abnl expression (16.7% versus 3.1% deceased), and between patients with and without LVSI (11.1% versus 1.5% deceased; p < 0.01 for both). The 2-year cumulative incidence of LR for patients with p53abnl versus wild type p53 and LVSI versus no LVSI was 11.1% (95% CI 0-25.6) versus 2.2% (95% CI 0-5.25; p = 0.04), and 11.4% (95% CI 2.0-20.9) versus 0%, respectively (p < 0.01). The 2-year cumulative RR in patients with LVSI versus no LVSI was 6.9% (95% CI 0-14.4) versus 0% (p = 0.05). No patients who completed pelvic RT experienced an in-field recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite LN assessment, patients with high-intermediate risk early-stage or stage IIIC (with positive lymph nodes only but no other stage II or III risk factors) endometrial cancer with p53abnl expression and/or LVSI have worse outcomes. These patients may derive benefit from intensification with EBRT to improve local and pelvic control.

Semiquantitative evaluation of lymph-vascular space invasion in patients affected by endometrial cancer: Prognostic and clinical implications

OBJECTIVES

The interpretation of lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) is usually qualitative, as presence or absence. The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic role of LVSI in patients affected by endometrial cancer, when evaluated with a semiquantitative analysis.

METHODS

This retrospective multicentre study enrolled patients who received a histologically confirmed diagnosis of endometrial cancer. The assessment of LVSI was semiquantitative in accordance with the three-tiered scoring system (absent, focal and diffuse).

RESULTS

Among 1258 patients with surgical-stage endometrial cancer, LVSI has been found in 32.8% of cases (n = 412), whose 12.7% (n = 160) were focal, and 20% (n = 252) diffuse. The rate of lymph node metastasis increased from the 5% in patients with no LVSI to 15% in patients with focal LVSI and 33% in those with diffuse LVSI (p < 0.001). Distant recurrences were more frequent in patients with diffuse LVSI than in focal or no LVSI (24.9% versus 14.7% and 6.6%, respectively, p < 0.001). Diffuse LVSI was found to significantly increase the risk of distant metastasis (adjusted odds ratio (A OR) 2.57, p < 0.001). Adjuvant radiation were associated with improved overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with diffuse LVSI.

CONCLUSION

The presence of diffuse LVSI is an independent risk factor for both lymph node metastasis and distant recurrence in endometrial cancer patients, and it is associated with a significantly decreased OS and DFS. Adjuvant radiation improved survival regardless of grading, histotype and lymph nodal metastasis in women with diffuse LVSI.