Advances in Treatment for Endometrial Cancer

Research studies show continual progress in finding new ways to treat endometrial cancer. This should give hope to all affected women and their families.

Advances in Surgery

There was a recent study by the national Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG). The study involved presumed early stage endometrial cancer. It compared traditional surgery to surgery done with a laparoscope. Most women who had the laparoscopic procedure had good results. Here are some ways surgery with a laparoscope compares to traditional, open surgery:

  • Several tiny cuts are made instead of one larger cut into the abdomen
  • The operating time is longer.
  • The hospital stay is shorter.
  • The immediate quality of life is better.

Ongoing research is exploring how laparoscopic surgery affects long-term cancer survival.

Advances in Radiation Therapy

Surgical staging combines lymph node surgery with a hysterectomy. Its increased use has meant less use or modification of radiation therapy. Knowing from surgery that the lymph nodes don’t have cancer means more women can be managed by surgery alone. Vaginal radiation is sometimes used for women without cancer in the lymph nodes but with high-risk factors. Vaginal radiation requires 3 to 5 outpatient treatments.

That’s compared to 5 weeks of pelvic radiation. And there are has fewer side effects. Women whose cancer has spread to the ovaries or lymph nodes may not do as well with radiation after surgery. That’s what a recent GOG-sponsored trial showed. One group of women had chemotherapy with a combination of two drugs. They lived longer than the other group that had radiation to the abdomen and pelvis. Two recent studies have looked at chemotherapy plus radiation in women at risk of the cancer returning. The best role of radiation therapy in endometrial cancer continues to develop. It’s important to discuss the risks and benefits of radiation therapy with a specialist. The specialist should be familiar with endometrial cancer. For example he or she could be a gynecologic oncologist or radiation oncologist.

Advances in Hormone Replacement Therapy

How well hormone replacement therapy works for women who’ve had their ovaries taken out or who have ones that don’t work is still controversial. To learn more, the GOG ran a randomized trial of hormone replacement. They looked at endometrial cancer survivors since these women have hysterectomies as part of their treatment. Results showed that the risk for the cancer coming back was low. That was true whether the woman had hormone replacement or not. The same results were true for the development of new cancers. Hormone replacement therapy is not for everyone. Women should talk with their doctors about the risks and benefits of taking hormones.

Effect of Obesity

Obesity keeps rising in the United States. Since obesity is a strong risk factor for endometrial cancer, many think that its incidence will also rise. It’s well known that obese women have more complications from treatment and less good outcomes. A review of data from several randomized trials, though, showed promising results. It showed that in women with advanced endometrial cancer, obesity did not have a significant effect on how long women lived.