Effect of grade on disease-free survival and overall survival in FIGO stage I adenocarcinoma of the endometrium.
OBJECTIVE
To analyse the effect of differentiation on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with stage I adenocarcinoma of the endometrium.


METHODS
From 1979 to 1995, 350 patients with FIGO stage IA-IC with well (G1), moderately (G2) or poorly (G3) differentiated tumors were treated with surgery and high dose-rate brachytherapy with or without external radiation. Median age was 65 years (39-86 years).


RESULTS
The 5-year DFS was 88+/-3% for the G1 tumors, 77+/-4% for the G2 tumors, and 67+/-7% for the G3 tumors (P=0.0049). With regard to the events contributing to DFS, the 5-year cumulative percentage of local relapse was 4.6% for the G1 tumors, 9.0% for the G2 tumors, and 4.6% (P=0.027) for the G3 tumors. Cumulative percentage of metastasis was 1.4, 6.3 and 7.2% (P<0.001), respectively, whereas percentages of death were 6.0, 7.9 and 20.7% (P<0.001). The 5-year OS was 91+/-3, 83+/-4 and 76+/-7%, respectively (P=0.0018). In terms of multivariate hazard ratios (HR), the relative differences between the three differentiation groups correspond to an increase of 77% of the risk of occurrence of either of the three events considered for the DFS (HR=1.77, 95% CI [0.94-3.33]), (P=0.078) for the G2 tumors and of 163% (HR=2.63, 95% CI [1.27-5.43]), (P=0.009) for the G3 tumors with respect to the G1 tumors. The estimated relative hazards for OS are, respectively, in line with those for DFS: HR=1.51 (P=0.282) for the G2 tumors; and HR=3.37 (P=0.003) for the G3 tumors.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with grade 1 tumors are those least exposed to either local relapse, metastasis, or death. In contrast patients with grade 2 tumors seem to be at higher risk of metastasis, whereas patients with grade 3 tumors appear at higher risk of death. Since we have looked at the first of three competing events (local relapse, metastasis and death), this suggests that patients with grade 3 tumors probably progress to death so fast that local relapse, if any, cannot be observed.
Delaloye
J F
JF
Département de Gynécologie-Obstétrique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Pampallona
S
S
Coucke
P A
PA
Megalo
A
A
De Grandi
P
P
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001918:Brachytherapy; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016019:Survival Analysis