Recurrent adenocarcinoma of the endometrium: a clinical and histopathological study of 379 patients

Three hundred and seventy-nine patients with recurrent endometrial cancer were seen in the Norwegian Radium Hospital from 1960 to 1976. Local recurrence was found in 190 patients (50%), distant metastases in 108 patients (28%), and in 81 patients (21%) local recurrence and distant metastases were found simultaneously. Thirty-two percent of all patients had no symptoms at the time of diagnosis of the recurrence. The median time interval between primary treatment and detection of recurrence was 14 months for patients with local recurrence and 19 months for those with distant metastases. Thirty-four percent of all recurrences was detected within 1 year and 76% within three years of primary treatment. In 10% recurrence was diagnosed more than 5 years after primary treatment. Twenty-two of the 190 patients (12%) with local recurrence, 5 of the 108 patients (5%) with distant metastases, and 2 of the 81 patients (2%) with local recurrence together with distant metastases survived and were without evidence of disease at the end of the observation period (3-19 years). Radiotherapy alone or in combination with surgery was given in 24 of the 29 "cured" patients; 16 of them received progestagens in addition. Three of the survivors were treated with progestagens alone. The median survival time for patients with lung metastases only, who were treated with progestagens, was considerably longer when compared to those without treatment (9 vs 2 months). The need for nonhormonal cytotoxic chemotherapy in the treatment of recurrent endometrial carcinoma is stressed.