K. Yamazawa et al., Prognostic factors in young women with endometrial carcinoma: a report of 20 cases and review of literature, INT J GYN C, 10(3), 2000, pp. 212-222
We, retrospectively reviewed the pathologic features of patients with endom
etrial carcinoma (EC) treated in our facility between 1989 and 1998.
First, we identified the clincopathologic features of young women with EC a
nd compared them with similar patients from the literature. Second, 148 EC
patients were divided into two groups: group A (age less than or equal to 4
5 years, n = 20) and B (age>45, n = 128). The mean follow-up periods were 6
5 months and 50 months in groups A and B, respectively. Group A patients ha
d better disease-free survival (Kaplan-Meier method, P = 0.0283) compared t
o group B patients. The independent variables related to disease-free survi
val (Cox regression analysis) were age (P = 0.0001), stage (P = 0.0183), hi
stology (P = 0.0011), and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.0007). The distribut
ion of stage was significantly different between the two groups (Chi-square
test, P = 0.0089). More group A patients (18 of 20; 90%) had early stage d
isease. There were no significant differences (Fisher's exact test) between
the two groups in histology, grade, cervical involvement, vascular invasio
n, tumor size, ovarian malignancy, and lymph node metastasis. However, grou
p A patients had a significant higher incidence of disease confined to the
inner half of the myometrium than group B patients (P = 0.0004). We statist
ically confirmed that young women with EC had better outcome due to a signi
ficantly higher proportion of early stage disease and less myometrial invas
ion than older patients.