Clinical results in the management of patients with uterine sarcoma

Our plain-English summary of Clinical results in the management of patients with uterine sarcoma, by K.J. Lohe, J. Baltzer, W. Wolf, et al (Pathology, Research and Practice, 1980).

The study

• Authors: K.J. Lohe, J. Baltzer, W. Wolf, R. Kürzl, H. Tschebiner
• Journal: Pathology, Research and Practice
• Published: 1980;169(2):200-1
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

From 24 Patients which were treated for uterine sarcomas during 1970-1977, 10 patients had a leiomyosarcoma, 6 an endometrial stromal sarcoma, and 8 a mixed mesodermal sarcoma. Surgical treatment was performed in 15 cases, and in 13 cases was followed by postoperative radiation. Eight patients were treated primarily by combined radium and cobalt 60 radiation therapy. Seventeen of 24 patients under control died, 15 of these within on year after onset of therapy. Regarding the histological patterns of sarcomas, both mitotic activity and vascular invasion was without significance in subsequent outcome.

In plain English

This short communication does not concern asbestos. It reported on patients with uterine sarcoma, a cancer of the uterus. The authors reviewed 24 patients treated for uterine sarcoma at the First University Women's Clinic in Munich from 1970 to 1977. Ten had leiomyosarcoma, 6 had endometrial stromal sarcoma, and 8 had mixed mesodermal sarcoma. Their mean age was 62 years (range 13 to 78). Vaginal bleeding was the most frequent symptom, seen in 17 of the 24. Fifteen patients had an abdominal hysterectomy with removal of both ovaries and tubes, and 13 of them also received radiation after surgery. Eight patients who could not be operated on received combined radium and cobalt 60 radiation. One patient with advanced disease received drug therapy and died after a short time. Seventeen of the 24 patients died, 15 within the first year of treatment. Only 2 survived more than 5 years. The authors concluded that tumor necrosis, mitotic activity and vascular invasion seen under the microscope had no prognostic value.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Short communication describing a single-clinic series of treated patients (case series); no asbestos exposure was studied
• Who was studied: 24 patients with uterine sarcoma treated at the First University Women's Clinic in Munich, 1970 to 1977; mean age 62 years (13 to 78 years)
• Main results:
  • Tumor types among the 24 patients: 10 leiomyosarcoma, 6 endometrial stromal sarcoma, 8 mixed mesodermal sarcoma (7 homologous, 1 heterologous)
  • Vaginal bleeding was the most frequent symptom, in 17 of the 24 patients
  • 15 of 24 patients had abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy; 13 received postoperative radiation
  • 8 inoperable patients were treated primarily with combined radium and cobalt 60 radiation
  • 1 patient with advanced disease received drug therapy and died after a short time
  • 17 of the 24 patients died, 15 of them within one year after the start of therapy
  • Only 2 patients survived more than 5 years
  • In the 15 microscopically examined cases, the uterine corpus was involved in 13 of 15 and the cervix in 6
  • Three patients had metastases in the adnexa
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that histologic tumor features (degree of tumor necrosis, mitotic activity, and evidence of vascular invasion) had no prognostic value

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Sarcoma.

Related studies

• Vulvar sarcomas: Short guideline for histopathological recognition and clinical management. Part 2 — A.A. Chokoeva, G. Tchernev, et al. (2015)
• Epithelioid endometrial and endometrioid stromal tumors: a report of four cases emphasizing their distinction from epithelioid smooth muscle tumors and other oxyphilic uterine and extrauterine tumors — E. Oliva, P.B. Clement, et al. (2002)
• TRAF7 mutations and immunohistochemical study of uterine adenomatoid tumor compared with malignant mesothelioma — H. Itami, T. Fujii, et al. (2021)
• Uterine adenomatoid tumors confirmed by immunohistochemical staining — M. Irikoma, K. Takahashi, et al. (2001)
• Metachronous Uterine Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma and Peritoneal Mesothelioma in Lynch Syndrome: A Case Report — Y. Lu, S. Milchgrub, et al. (2017)
• Immunohistochemical evidence of the mesothelial histogenesis of a uterine adenomatoid tumor — Y. Satoh, M. Hiraguchi, et al. (1998)

Browse more research in Pathology, Research and Practice, or return to medical research.