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Incorporating Molecular Diagnostics into Treatment Paradigms for Endometrial Cancer

  • Gynecologic Cancers (JS Ferriss, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

The treatment of endometrial cancer has recently undergone a paradigm shift from using traditional clinical-pathologic factors to molecular characterization for prognosis and selection of treatment. Recent approval of pembrolizumab, dostarlimab, and the combination of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab has drastically changed the treatment options and response rate for advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer, especially for DNA mismatch repair–deficient (MMRd) tumors. For p53 abnormal tumors, which have the worst prognosis, there are several new treatment approaches including lenvatinib and pembrolizumab, trastuzumab, and possibly a future role for PARP inhibitors in the homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) p53 abnormal population. In DNA polymerase epsilon–mutated (POLEmut) tumors which have an excellent prognosis, there’s a possibility to de-escalate treatment, and in the small chance of recurrence, these tumors may be susceptible to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Further research is needed to better characterize biomarkers for prognosis and identify targeted treatments within the p53 wild-type (p53 WT)/no specific molecular profile (NSMP) cohort. Upcoming studies are evaluating adjuvant treatment by molecular subtype and will determine the next steps for precision medicine in endometrial cancer.

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  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Toronto, 700 University Ave, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M5, Canada

    Brenna E. Swift MD, MASc & Lilian T. Gien MD, MSc

  2. Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Room T2 055, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4N 3M5

    Lilian T. Gien MD, MSc

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  1. Brenna E. Swift MD, MASc
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Correspondence to Lilian T. Gien MD, MSc.

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Brenna Swift declares that she has no conflict of interest. Dr. Gien reports personal fees from GlaxoSmithKline and personal fees from Merck, outside the submitted work.

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Swift, B.E., Gien, L.T. Incorporating Molecular Diagnostics into Treatment Paradigms for Endometrial Cancer. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 23, 1121–1134 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-022-00993-x

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