Markers for individualised therapy in endometrial carcinoma

Most endometrial carcinomas are diagnosed at an early stage. Still, 15-20% of these carcinomas recur with limited effect of systemic therapies in metastatic disease. Improved ability to target surgical and systemic therapies to well selected patient populations will increase the likelihood of benefits. Retrospective studies have identified several markers for lymph-node metastasis and poor prognosis. No new targeted treatments are available in the clinic, but recent comprehensive molecular characterisations of tumours have identified drugs targeting the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 2 as promising for further studies, also reflected in current clinical trials investigating endometrial carcinoma. A more systematic approach to integration of biomarkers in surgical trials and clinical trials of therapeutics, earlier characterisation and standardisation of diagnostic imaging and biomarker assessment, and prospective implementation studies are needed for clinical implementation. We summarise the present knowledge regarding biomarkers in endometrial carcinoma, assessing how such markers could be applied to address key clinical challenges for the treatment of this disease.