Abstract IA002: Management of newly diagnosed endometrial cancers and molecular classification
Authors: Levine Douglas A. 
Published: March 2024

In the past 50 years, the treatment of this cancer has evolved from a regimen of preoperative radiation therapy followed by hysterectomy, to individualized management consisting of surgical treatment with or without additional therapy depending on whether various risk factors are identified. After the diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma has been histologically confirmed, uterine and extrauterine risk factors affect the probability of retroperitoneal lymph node involvement and subsequent survival. Surgical staging is a critical component for the proper diagnosis and management of all endometrial carcinomas. FIGO stage is the most powerful predictor of prognosis. Surgical staging is feasible by minimally invasive techniques. Patients with significant medical comorbidities who are not acceptable candidates for surgery may be managed by alternative means. Women with EC are diagnosed under the age of 40 may be eligibile for nonoperative management if there is no clear evidence of myometrial invasion. As the contemporary management of EC continues to evolve, and the indications for lymph node dissection remain controversial. Minimally invasive management of EC has increasingly been integrated into standard practice. In 2006, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) began with studies in glioblastoma and high-grade serous ovarian cancer. The National Institutes of Health committed major resources to TCGA to collect and characterize the genomic landscape of more than 20 cancer types. In 2013, TCGA published findings for endometrial cancers. Only serous and endometrioid subtypes were accrued in the endometrial cancer project. TCGA has reclassified endometrioid and serous endometrial cancers in four broad categories using comprehensive genomic approaches. One-third of the cancers is characterized by microsatellite instability (MSI) and associated hyper-mutation. The cancers without MSI can be further separated into two groups. Serous cases with extensive DNA copy number alterations and genomic instability comprise one group, and endometrioid cases with few or only focal copy number alterations comprise the other. A smaller fourth sub-group contains samples with very high mutation rates and is characterized by mutations in POLE. Molecular features can be distinctly overlaid onto these four sub-classifications, and each have important clinical implications that are currently being used in both clinical practice and clinical trial design. In this educational presentation, we will discuss the management of newly diagnosed endometrial cancers, review the molecular classification of endometrial cancers, and identify approaches that incorporate these findings into clinical care and clinical trial design.

Citation Format: Douglas A. Levine. Management of newly diagnosed endometrial cancers and molecular classification [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Endometrial Cancer: Transforming Care through Science; 2023 Nov 16-18; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2024;30(5_Suppl):Abstract nr IA002.