ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA IN WOMEN AGED 40 YEARS OR YOUNGER - A JAPANESE EXPERIENCE

We report on the clinical and pathologic findings in 17 cases of endom etrial carcinoma in Japanese women aged 40 years or younger. Age of th e patients ranged from 16 to 40 years, with a median of 35 years. Nine of 17 tumors (52.9%) were stage I or II (FIGO 1988) but 8 (47.1%) wer e stage III. Four of the 8 patients with stage III disease had pelvic lymph node metastases and one also had para-aortic lymph node metastas is. One patient had metastasis to the ovary and peritoneal cytology wa s positive in 4 patients. Histologically, 13 of these 17 patients had endometrioid adenocarcinoma, 3 had adenoacanthoma and 1 had an undiffe rentiated carcinoma. Ten were well differentiated tumors (G1), 3 were moderately differentiated tumors (G2), and 4 were poorly differentiate d tumors (G3). Nine of 17 (52.9%) showed deep myometrial invasion (mor e than a half of the myometrium) and 5 of 17 (29.4%) demonstrated lymp hatic/vascular space invasion. Pelvic and para-aortic lymph node metas tases were seen in 4 of 15 (26.7%) and 1 of 15 (6.7%), respectively. T wo of these 17 patients died of disease in a relatively short follow-u p period. In our experience there is no difference in the survival rat es between patients aged 40 years or younger and those over 40 years.