Endometrial carcinoma in women 45 years of age or younger

Adenocarcinoma of the endometrium in patients 45 years or age of younger accounts for 21% of all endometrial neoplasms diagnosed. The clinical and pathological findings in 17 cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma patients aged 45 years or younger treated between January 1976 and December 1992 in Department B of the Gynecologic and Obstetric Institute, University of Torino, Italy are reported. The patients age ranged from 31 to 45 years, with a median age of 39.3 years. Thirteen of the 17 neoplasms (76.4%) were stage IB (FIGO 1988), two (11.7%) stage IIB, one (5.8%) IIIC and one IVA. Histologically all patients had endometrial adenocarcinoma, eight were well-differentiated tumors (G1), six were moderately-differentiated tumors (G2) and three poorly-differentiated tumors (G3). Three of the patients treated from 1976 to 1979 received post-operative administration of 17-hydroxiprogesterone-19-norcapronate (500 mg i.m. weekly for one year) and 14 of the patients treated from 1980 to 1992 received, according to neoadjuvant hormonal protocols, Medroxiprogesterone acetate (MPA) 1,000 mg daily per os for 90 days and 500 mg per os for one year. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the existence of this neoplasm in an unexpected age range.