Endometrial carcinosarcoma
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Endometrial carcinosarcoma is a rare and aggressive high-grade endometrial carcinoma with secondary sarcomatous trans-differentiation (conversion theory). The clinical presentation and diagnostic work-up roughly align with those of the more common endometrioid counterpart, although endometrial carcinosarcoma is more frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage. Endometrial carcinosarcoma is not a single entity but encompasses different histological subtypes, depending on the type of carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. The majority of endometrial carcinosarcomas are characterized by p53 abnormalities. The proportion of POLE and microsatellite instablity-high (MSI-H) is directly related to the epithelial component, being approximately 25% and 3% in endometrioid and non-endometrioid components. The management of non-metastatic disease is based on a multimodal approach with optimal surgery followed by (concomitant or sequential) chemotherapy and radiotherapy, even for early stages. Palliative chemotherapy is recommended in the metastatic or recurrent setting, with carboplatin/paclitaxel doublet being the first-line regimen. Although the introduction of immunotherapy plus/minus a tyrosine kinase inhibitor shifted the paradigm of treatment of patients with recurrent endometrial cancer, patients with endometrial carcinosarcoma were excluded from most studies evaluating single-agent immunotherapy or the combination. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the use of pembrolizumab and lenvatinib in endometrial cancer (all histotypes) after progression on chemotherapy and single-agent immunotherapy in MSI-H cancers. In the era of precision medicine, emerging knowledge on molecular endometrial carcinosarcoma is opening new promising therapeutic options for more personalized treatment. The present review outlines state-of-the-art knowledge and future directions for patients with endometrial carcinosarcoma.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 147-174 |
Number of pages | 28 |
Journal | International journal of gynecological cancer |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2023 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
PubMed | 36585027 |
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Keywords
Sustainable Development Goals
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- carcinosarcoma, genital neoplasms, female, uterine cancer, Carboplatin/therapeutic use, Uterine Neoplasms/pathology, Humans, Endometrial Neoplasms/therapy, Carcinosarcoma/therapy, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local, Female, Combined Modality Therapy