The role of multimodal adjuvant therapy for FIGO I-II carcinosarcoma of the uterus: a systematic review

Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2022 Jul:175:103701. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2022.103701. Epub 2022 May 6.

Abstract

The uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) is a rare entity with poor prognosis. Treatment of FIGO I-II UCS usually consists of surgery with or without adjuvant treatment. Due to the high metastatic potential, aggressive combined modality adjuvant treatment approaches, consisting of chemo- and radiotherapy, have been of interest. Our systematic review aims to compare survival, disease control and toxicity profiles in patients receiving adjuvant chemoradiation to other adjuvant strategies (e.g.observation, chemotherapy or radiotherapy). A total of ten studies were included for a combined cohort size of 6520 patients. Generally, the studies showed a trend towards improved disease control and survival in patients undergoing adjuvant multimodal treatment, although statistical significance was often not reached. Selection bias and non-randomized treatment allocation pose serious challenges to extrapolate these outcomes to clinical practice. We recommend additional prospective research on the role of adjuvant chemoradiation in FIGO I-II UCS.

Keywords: Adjuvant chemoradiation; Adjuvant multimodal treatment; Early stage high risk uterine malignancy; Uterine carcinosarcoma; Uterine mixed mullarian tumor.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Carcinosarcoma* / drug therapy
  • Carcinosarcoma* / pathology
  • Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Prospective Studies
  • Radiotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Uterine Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Uterus / pathology