Factors prognostic of survival in advanced-stage uterine serous carcinoma

The study objective was to analyze the impact of prognostic factors, including treatment modality, on outcome in patients with advanced-stage uterine serous carcinoma (USC).

A retrospective review of patients diagnosed with stage III or IV USC between 1993 and 2012 was performed. Summary statistics were used to describe demographic and clinical characteristics. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) were estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model the association of potential prognostic factors with OS and RFS.

The study included 260 patients with median follow-up of 26.6months (range 1-172.8). Median age was 63years (range 30-88) and 52.3% had stage III disease. In all, 60% were treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy, 18.1% received surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, 11.5% had surgery and radiotherapy, and 10.4% had neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The overall complete response rate was 68.9%, and the cumulative incidence of recurrence was 82.7%. Treatment that included surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation and stage III disease were associated with improved RFS on multivariate analysis. For OS, therapy with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, mixed histology, and stage III disease were associated with better OS on multivariate analysis.

Patients with advanced-stage USC have a poor prognosis, regardless of clinical factors or treatment received. However, combination therapy that includes chemotherapy and radiation appears to be associated with improved survival in these women.