SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE ENDOMETRIUM - A REPORT OF 8 CASES AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Background: Endometrial squamous cell carcinoma is extremely rare, wit h only 56 cases reported in the literature. Methods: Six cases of endo metrial squamous cell carcinoma were found in a review of 1182 cases o f uterine corpus cancer treated at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1975 to 1993, Two additional cases were seen in pathological cons ultation. The clinicopathological features of these 8 cases and the 56 reported cases were analyzed. Results: The average age of the patient s was 67 years; almost all of them were postmenopausal. The most frequ ent presenting symptom was vaginal bleeding. Chronic pyometra and null iparity were predisposing factors. The average duration of symptoms be fore diagnosis was 11.5 months. Total abdominal hysterectomy with bila teral salpingo-oophorectomy was the primary treatment in 58 patients. Eighty percent of the patients with Stage I tumors survived; the media n follow-up time was 32 months. The survival rate for patients with St age III tumors was only 20%, and all 6 patients with Stage IV disease died. Conclusions: The preoperative diagnosis of endometrial squamous cell carcinoma may be difficult, since curettage specimens may show on ly highly differentiated squamous epithelium. The strong relationship between tumor stage and survival suggests that early diagnosis and tre atment are imperative. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.