Purpose: To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of curettage with hysteroscopy followed by megestrol acetate (MA) for well-differentiated endometrioid carcinoma (EC) confined to the endometrium and for atypical hyperplasia (AH) in young women.
Patients and methods: Fourteen patients with EC and 12 patients with AH were prospectively enrolled in this study. All of the patients received at least 12 weeks of oral MA (160 mg/day) following thorough curettage with hysteroscopy. The response was assessed histologically every 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the complete response rate. Adverse events, pregnancy rates and recurrence rates were secondary end points.
Results: Twenty-one (80.8 %) patients responded to treatment. The median time to response was 12 weeks. After a median follow-up of 32 months, 6 patients had recurrences. Significantly, more patients with infertility or PCOS experienced recurrence (P = 0.040, P = 0.015). Eight patients attempted to conceive after complete response; two spontaneous conceptions and one normal delivery were achieved. No disease-related or treatment-related deaths were observed.
Conclusions: Fertility-sparing treatment with MA following entirely hysteroscopic curettage is effective, demonstrating the least toxicity for rigorously selected young women with well-differentiated EC confined to the endometrium or with AH; however, close follow-up is required for the potential consequences of improper patient selection and a substantial rate of recurrence.