Clinicopathological and survival analysis of uterine papillary serous carcinoma: a single institutional review of 106 cases

Abstract

Objectives

The objectives of this study were to analyze clinicopathological features and to investigate the prognostic determinants in patients with uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC).

Materials and methods

A cohort of 106 UPSC patients diagnosed and treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between 2000 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis were used for survival analysis. Differences between categorical data were calculated by using the chi-squared test.

Results

The median follow-up was 29.0 months (range =2–170 months), with an overall recurrence rate of 35.8%. The coincidence rate between preoperative endometrial sampling and postoperative definitive pathology of hysteroscopy group was significantly higher than that of the dilation and curettage group (88.5% vs 65.0%, P=0.019). Adjuvant therapy-treated patients with stage I UPSC experienced significantly fewer recurrences than those receiving observation (P=0.003). Patients with advanced-stage UPSC who received combination therapy demonstrated a lower risk of local recurrence compared with those who received chemotherapy alone with a borderline significance (P=0.051). Elevated serum cancer antigen 125 level was associated with advanced-stage disease and recurrence (P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, tumor stage and optimal cytoreduction were independent predictors of survival. In substage analysis, complete surgical staging was associated with better overall survival (OS; yes vs no, HR: 0.05 [95% CI: 0.01–0.51], P=0.037) in patients with stage I UPSC. As for advanced stage, paclitaxel–platinum chemotherapy regimen and optimal cytoreduction were independent favorable prognostic factors for progression-free survival (paclitaxel–carboplatin [TC] vs other; HR =0.38, P=0.010; yes vs no, HR =0.45, P=0.032) and OS (TC vs other, HR =0.38, P=0.022; yes vs no, HR =0.54, P=0.013).

Conclusion

In patients with stage I UPSC, complete staging was associated with better OS, and therefore, it should be performed in all patients. Tumor stage and optimal cytoreduction are the most significant prognostic factors. Recurrence can be improved in stage I patients treated with adjuvant therapy and in patients with advanced-stage disease treated with combined therapy. TC regimen may be the preferred regimen for chemotherapy.

Keywords:

• uterine serous carcinoma
• surgical staging
• adjuvant therapy
• recurrence
• prognosis

Supplementary materials

Table S1 The spreading pattern of mixed UPSC patients with advanced stage (n=27)

Table S2 Discordant cases according to the pathology of diagnostic and hysterectomy specimens

Table S3 Univariate analysis of PFS and OS in the patients with stage I UPSC

Acknowledgments

We thank all of the faculty, nurses, and staff at Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology in PUMCH for the excellent care they provide for patients. We also thank the members of the Department of Pathology of PUMCH for their support with the pathological reviews, and we are very grateful to the colleagues of Medical Records Department for providing us with case record support. This work was supported by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Initiative for Innovative Medicine (CAMS-2017-I2M-1–002).

Author contributions

All authors contributed toward data analysis, drafting and revising the paper, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.