[Endometrial adenocarcinoma in women 40 years old or younger by treatment with progestins: report of 6 cases and review of the literatures].

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of fertility-sparing treatment with progestins in patients with well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma in women 40 years old or younger.
Methods: Six patients before the age of 40 diagnosed with grade I endometrial adenocarcinoma, who had undergone primary progestin treatment, were retrospectively studied. The clinical records and pathologic slides and the follow-up information were reviewed. Relevant articles describing patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma who were treated with hormonal therapy were searched. A total of 56 cases were found and used in integrated analysis.
Results: Four of six cases responded to treatment with normal pathology on follow-up endometrial samplings. Two patients had a recurrence within a period between 10 and 12 months. No response was noted in the other two cases, who were offered surgery. Therefore, a total of 4 patients ultimately underwent hysterectomy. None of these four patients had extrauterine metastasis on postoperation pathologic examination. All these six patients were alive without evidence of disease at last follow-up. According to literatures, 46 of 56 cases responded to hormonal treatment and 11 cases had a recurrence. Seven of the 11 patients who recurred were re-treated with progesterone. Five patients had a second complete response. Sixteen of the 56 patients underwent hysterectomy. One of the patients had a pelvic recurrence after operation. The others remained without evidence of disease. Six patients in author's group had neither pregnancy nor delivery. Among 56 patients described in literatures, there were 41 person-times pregnancies and 40 infants were delivered, including 4 twins and 2 triples.
Conclusions: Progestin treatment is proved a safe and feasible therapy in well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma in women 40 years old or younger. This approach may provide the possibility of conceiving and carrying a pregnancy with the aid of assisted reproduction technology.