OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patterns of failure, overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and factors influencing outcome in endometrial cancer patients who presented with metastatic lymph nodes and were treated with curative intent. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-six patients treated between January 1996 to December 2008 with surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy were identified from our service's prospective database. Radiotherapy consisted of 45 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions to the whole pelvis. The involved nodal sites were boosted to a total dose of 50.4 to 54 Gy. RESULTS: The 5-year OS rate was 61% and the 5-year DFS rate was 59%. Grade 3 endometrioid, serous, and clear cell histologies and involvement of upper para-aortic nodes had lower OS and DFS. The number of positive nodes did not influence survival. Among the histological groups, serous histology had the worst survival. Among the 54 patients relapsed, only three (6%) failed exclusively in the pelvis and the rest of the 94% failed in extrapelvic nodal or distant sites. Patients with grade 3 endometrioid, serous and clear cell histologies did not influence pelvic failure but had significant extrapelvic failures (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Majority of node positive endometrial cancer patients fail at extrapelvic sites. The most important factors influencing survival and extrapelvic failure are grade 3 endometrioid, clear cell and serous histologies and involvement of upper para-aortic nodes.
Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell/pathology/radiotherapy/*secondary/surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Endometrioid/pathology/radiotherapy/*secondary/surgery ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Papillary/pathology/radiotherapy/*secondary/surgery ; Endometrial Neoplasms/pathology/radiotherapy/*surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Salvage Therapy/methods ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Failure ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to validate the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) criteria for adjuvant treatment in a different cohort of patients and to evaluate the simplified risk criteria predicting the prognosis and tailoring adjuvant treatment in patients with surgically staged endometrial cancer. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 261 consecutive patients with surgically staged endometrial cancer between January 2000 and February 2013. All patients had complete staging procedures and were surgically staged according to the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system. Clinical and pathologic data were obtained from medical records. We designed the simplified risk criteria for adjuvant treatment according to the risk factors associated with survival. The patients were divided into low and low-intermediate, high-intermediate, and high-risk groups according to the GOG criteria and simplified criteria and their survivals were compared. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic significance of both criteria. RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 48 months (range, 10 to 122 months). According to the GOG criteria, we identified 197 low and low-intermediate risk patients, 20 high-intermediate risk patients, and 44 high-risk patients. There were significant differences in disease-free (p<0.001) and overall survival (p<0.001) among the three groups. Using the simplified risk criteria, we identified 189 low and low-intermediate risk patients, 28 high-intermediate risk patients, and 44 high-risk patients. There were significant differences in disease-free (p<0.001) and overall survival (p<0.001) among the three groups. The performance of the simplified criteria (area under the curve [AUC]=0.829 and 0.916 for disease recurrences and deaths, respectively) was as good as the GOG criteria (AUC=0.836 and 0.921 for disease recurrences and deaths, respectively). CONCLUSION: The simplified criteria may be easily applicable and offer useful information for planning strategy of adjuvant treatment in patients with surgically staged endometrial cancer as the GOG criteria.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Endometrial Neoplasms/pathology/surgery/*therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Lower extremity lymphedema adversely affects quality of life by causing discomfort, impaired mobility and increased risk of infection. The goal of this study is to investigate factors that influence the likelihood of lymphedema in patients with endometrial cancer who undergo adjuvant radiation with or without chemotherapy. METHODS: A retrospective chart review identified all stage I-III endometrial cancer patients who had a hysterectomy with or without complete staging lymphadenectomy and adjuvant radiation therapy between January 2006 and February 2013. Patients with new-onset lymphedema after treatment were identified. Logistic regression was used to find factors that influenced lymphedema risk. RESULTS: Of 212 patients who met inclusion criteria, 15 patients (7.1%) developed new-onset lymphedema. Lymphedema was associated with lymph-node dissection (odds ratio [OR], 5.6; 95% CI, 1.01 to 105.5; p=0.048) and with the presence of pathologically positive lymph nodes (OR, 4.1; 95% CI, 1.4 to 12.3; p=0.01). Multivariate logistic regression confirmed the association with lymph-node positivity (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.0007 to 10.7; p=0.0499) when controlled for lymph-node dissection. Median time to lymphedema onset was 8 months (range, 1 to 58 months) with resolution or improvement in eight patients (53.3%) after a median of 10 months. CONCLUSION: Lymph-node positivity was associated with an increased risk of lymphedema in endometrial cancer patients who received adjuvant radiation. Future studies are needed to explore whether node-positive patients may benefit from early lymphedema-controlling interventions.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Endometrial Neoplasms/*radiotherapy/surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Lymph Node Excision/adverse effects ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Lymphedema/*etiology/therapy ; Middle Aged ; Radiation Injuries/*etiology/therapy ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant/adverse effects ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for patient with gynecological malignancies after treatment of hysterectomy and chemotherapy/radiotherapy.

METHODSAll 32 patients with cervical or endometrial cancer after hysterectomy received full course IMRT after 1 to 3 cycles of chemotherapy (Karnofsky performance status(KPS) > or =70). Seventeen of these patients underwent postoperative preventive irradiation and the other 15 patients were pelvic wall recurrence and/or retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, though postoperative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy had been given after operation.

RESULTSThe median dose delivered to the PTV was 56.8 Gy for preventive irradiation, and 60.6 Gy for pelvic wall recurrence or retroperioneal lymph node metastasis irradiation. It was required that 90% of iso-dose curve could covere more than 99% of GTV. However, The mean dose irradiated to small intestine, bladder, rectum, kidney and spinal cord was 21.3 Gy, 37.8 Gy, 35.3 Gy, 8.5 Gy, 22.1 Gy, respectively. Fourteen patients presented grade I (11 patients) or II (3 patients) digestive tract side-effects, Five patients developed grade I or II bone marrow depression. Twelve patients had grade I skin reaction. The overall 1-year survival rate was 100%. The 2- and 3- year survival rate for preventive irradiation were both 100%, but which was 5/7 and 3/6 for the patients with pelvic wall recurrence or retroperioneal lymph node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONIntensity modulated radiation therapy can provide a better dose distribution than traditional radiotherapy for both prevention and pelvic wall recurrence or retroperioneal lymph node metastasis. The toxicity is tolerable. The adjacent organs at risk can well be protected.

Adult ; Aged ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Diarrhea ; etiology ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; methods ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; adverse effects ; methods ; Survival Analysis ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; surgery

To determine whether radical hysterectomy is necessary in the treatment of endometrial cancer patients with cervical involvement, we reviewed the medical records of women who underwent primary surgical treatment for endometrial carcinoma and selected patients with pathologically proven cervical invasion. Among 133 patients, 62 patients underwent extrafascial hysterectomy (EH) and 71 radical or modified radical hysterectomy (RH). The decision regarding EH or RH was made at the discretion of the attending surgeon. The sensitivity of pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging for cervical invasion was 44.7% (38/85). In RH patients, 10/71 (14.1%) patients had frankly histologic parametrial involvement (PMI). All were stage III or over. Eight of 10 patients had pelvic/paraaortic node metastasis and two showed extrauterine spread. In 74 patients with stage II cancer, RH was performed in 41 and PMI was not seen. Sixty-six (89.2%) patients had adjuvant radiation therapy and there were 3 patients who had developed recurrent disease in the RH group and none in the EH group (Mean follow-up: 51 months). Although these findings cannot conclusively refute or support the necessity of radical hysterectomy in patients with cervical extension, it is noteworthy that the risk of PMI seems to be minimal in patients with a tumor confined to the uterus without evidence of extrauterine spread.
Adult ; Aged ; Databases, Factual ; Endometrial Neoplasms/epidemiology/*pathology/*surgery ; Female ; Humans ; *Hysterectomy/methods ; Korea/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology ; Neoplasm Staging ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/epidemiology/*pathology/*surgery

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics, treatment methods, and prognosis of synchronous primary cancers of the endometrium and ovary.

METHODSThe clinical data of 43 patients with synchronous primary cancers of the endometrium and ovary were retrospectively reviewed. The survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test.

RESULTSThe median age at diagnosis was 49 years (range, 28-73 years). The most common symptoms were abnormal vaginal bleeding (69.8%) and abdominal or pelvic pain (44.2%).Pelvic masses were found in 39.5% of the patients and enlarged corpus in 27.9% at physical examination, while pelvic masses were found in 67.4% of the 43 patients (29 cases) and thickening or abnormal endometrium in 23.3% (10 cases) during ultrasound examination. Of 25 patients examined by CT/MRI, pelvic masses were found in 13 cases and enlarged uterus in 11 cases. All 15 patients who underwent endometrial biopsies were proven to have endometrial carcinomas. Serum CA125 level was found to be elevated in 22 of the 34 examined cases (64.7%) with a median value of 500 U/ml (range, 39-3439 U/ml). FIGO stages of endometrial carcinomas: IA 18 cases, IB 20 cases, IC 2 cases, IIA 3 cases; Stages of ovarian carcinomas: IA 19 cases, IB 4 cases, IC 7 cases, II 4 cases, III C 9 cases. Twenty-four patients (55.8%) were in stage I both endometrial and ovarian carcinomas. Thirty-one patients underwent total hysterectomy plus bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with omentectomy and appendectomy, meanwhile, 12 patients had pelvic lymph node dissection. Thirty-eight of the 43 patients (88.4%) had a pathologically proven endometrial adenocarcinoma. The predominant ovarian histology was endometrioid or mixed tumor with endometrioid components (30/43, 69.8%). Postoperatively, 26 patients (60.5%) received adjuvant chemotherapy alone, 12 had chemotherapy plus radiotherapy, only one patient had radiation alone and the remaining 4 cases received no adjuvant treatment. The 3- and 5-year survival rates of the group were 87.4% and 71.1%, respectively. The 3- and 5-year survival rates of patients with both endometrioid and ovarian carcinomas were higher than that of those with non-endometrioid or mixed subtypes (93.8%, 82.0% vs. 79.7%, 69.0%). The 3-year and 5-year survival rates of patients with early stage disease were better than those of the other patients (93.3%, 93.3% vs. 69.7%, 36.7%). Recurrence developed in 15 patients (34.9%). It was showed by univariate analysis that lower CA125 level, early FIGO stage, and adjuvant chemotherapy plus radiotherapy significantly and positively affect the 5-year survival rates, while only early FIGO stage and chemotherapy plus radiotherapy were revealed by multivariate analysis as independent prognostic factors.

CONCLUSIONSynchronous primary cancers of the endometrium and ovary are different from either primary endometrial carcinoma or ovarian cancer, while it can usually be detected in early stage and with a good prognosis. The impact of the CA125 level on prognosis needs to be further studied. Surgical treatment alone may be enough for early stage patients. Chemotherapy plus radiotherapy may be necessary for advanced stage patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Endometrioid ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; methods ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Proteins ; metabolism ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo investigate the impact of surgical resection extent and other clinicopathological characteristics on the prognosis in patients with clinical stage I endometrial carcinoma.

METHODSThe data of 135 surgically treated patients with clinical stage I endometrial carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed. Fifty-seven patients (group A) underwent simple hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy with or without pelvic lymphadenectomy. The other 78 patients (group B) received sub-radical or radical hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy with or without pelvic lymphadenectomy. The impact of surgery extent and other clinicopathological characteristics on the prognosis in patients with clinical stage I endometrial carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences between two groups in the pathological stage, pathologic type, tumor grade, depth of myometrial invasion, vascular tumor emboli, ovary invasion, lymph node metastasis, positive peritoneal cytology and adjuvant therapy (P > 0.05). However, the patients in group A had a significantly shorter operating time (105 vs. 145 min), less estimated blood loss (150 vs. 300 ml) and blood transfusion (0 approximately 600 vs. 0 approximately 1200 ml), and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (12 vs. 13 days) than that in group B (all P < 0.05). The overall rates of post-operative complications were 15.8% in group A versus 26.9% in group B (P > 0.05). The recurrence rate in the group A was 14.0% versus 6.4% in group B (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the five-year survival rate in group A was 76.9% versus 85.8% in group B (P > 0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the important risk factors for clinical stage I endometrial carcinoma were deep myometrium invasion, high pathological grade, positive peritoneal cytology and ovarian metastasis, rather than surgical resection extent.

CONCLUSIONSurgery extent is not an important factor affecting the prognosis in patients with clinical stage I endometrial carcinoma, and extended surgery does not improve their survival. Therefore, excessive resection should be avoided in such cases.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Blood Loss, Surgical ; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Carcinoma, Endometrioid ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; methods ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Node Excision ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate