Purpose: To evaluate the clinicopathologic features in patients with synchronous primary carcinomas of the ovary and endometrium.
Methods: Clinical information and pathologic details were collected and analyzed from 30 women with synchronous endometrial and ovarian cancers.
Results: Median age at diagnosis was 51 years. Abnormal uterine bleeding was the most common presenting symptom (50%). More than half (53%) of the patients were premenopausal and 37% never had a pregnancy. Stage I disease was observed in 90 (27/30) and 73% (22/30) of the patients with endometrial and ovarian cancer, respectively. Endometrioid type was the most frequently observed histology for synchronous endometrial and ovarian cancer (n = 18/30, 60%). All patients were surgically staged and adjuvant treatment was considered when required according to our protocols. The mean follow-up period was 6.6 years (SD = 3.0 years), and the cumulative event-free rate for 5 years was 84.2% (SE 7.3%). No significant differences in the survival rates were found according to the histological subtype (p = 0.513). Women with synchronous primary cancers of the endometrium and ovary were generally younger than those developing either one of the above mentioned adenocarcinomas. They appeared to have a favorable prognosis with an estimated overall survival of 84.2% in 5 years.
Conclusions: A gynecologist should always keep in mind the possibility of double primary carcinomas of the endometrium and ovary in a young, premenopausal, nulliparous woman presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding and prompt the patient for further evaluation.