A prognosis based classification of uterin cancer


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The ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus

A prognosis based classification of undifferentiated uterine sarcomas: Identification of mitotic index, hormone receptors and YWHAE-FAM22 translocation status as predictors of survival

Undifferentiated uterine sarcomas (UUS) are rare tumors with a heterologous biology and a poor prognosis.

In a recent study by scientists from the Human Protein Atlas project and colleagues, the relevance of clinicopathology, mitotic index, translocation status (YWHAE-FAM22), and a number of biomarker candidates were examined for correlation with the prognosis of these tumors. The protein biomarkers P53, P16, Ki-67, Cyclin-D1, ER, PR, and ANLN were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

Although the number of cases was small, these results indicate that UUS can be divided into two prognostic groups with a statistically significant difference in prognosis:

  • a high mitotic index group (10 cases)
  • a low mitotic index group (16 cases)

    The mitotic index was used as primary criteria for classification, followed by expression of either ER, PR, or the presence of a YWHAE-FAM22 translocation as a secondary criteria. The expression of ER, PR, or presence of the YWHAE-FAM22 translocation correlated with low mitotic index and an additionally improved prognosis.

    This study demonstrates the presence of statistically significant prognostic subgroups within UUS, and provides treatment insights.

    Read the more about the analysis here.