Endometrial cancer subtypes are associated with different patterns of recurrence

To evaluate the pattern of endometrial cancer recurrence according to its biological subtype in a large cohort of patients.

Patients were stage eligible if they had a description of registry risk of recurrence status and were not primary metastatic. Data were prospectively collected. The primary endpoints were the subtype-dependent pattern and time of recurrence.

The median follow-up time was 84 months. The highest 10-year recurrence-free and overall survival were seen in the group of patients at low risk of recurrence, 83.1 and 94.1%, respectively. The 10-year recurrence-free survival for intermediate and high risk group was 65.7 and 56.2%, respectively, whereas the estimated 10-year overall survival for both groups was 84.5 and 79.3%, respectively. Patients at high risk demonstrated the highest levels of disease recurrence in the first 3–4 years after diagnosis and the most common site of metastasis was the lung. In contrast, the rate of recurrence for patients at intermediate and low risk of recurrence in the first 5 years was relatively low but remained continuous up to 10 years of follow-up. Overall, the most common site of relapse was local recurrence.

Endometrial cancer subtypes are associated with different times and patterns of recurrence and this should be considered when determining the treatment strategy.