Endometrial cancer is the fourth most common malignancy among American women. The National Cancer Institute estimates that close to 50,000 women will be diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2013; for a majority of women with aggressive, high-grade tumors, the 5-year survival rate is approximately 16%.
A new analysis of nearly 400 endometrial tumors can now help to distinguish the important types of endometrial tumors and the frequency of mutations that could enhance treatment decisions. Led by researchers from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), this new study revealed 4 novel subtypes of endometrial tumors, as well as genomic similarities between endometrial cancer and breast, ovarian, and colorectal cancers.
“More genomic similarities are emerging between disparate tumor types,” said National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD. “Teasing out heretofore unknown genomic markers or mutations in various cancers is again proving the value of TCGA.”
According to this study, approximately 25% of high-grade endometrial tumors have mutations in TP53, a tumor-suppressor gene, and many copy alterations.
“Some tumors with the same characterization by pathologists may have very different molecular features. That’s where these findings will be directly implemented in additional research, and also in the context of clinical trials,” said co-lead investigator Douglas A. Levine, MD, Head of the Gynecology Research Laboratory at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
“Finding genomic similarities among types of breast, ovarian, endometrial and colorectal tumors once again reveals that cancer, although very complex, may have themes extending beyond tissue type that can be exploited for therapeutic benefit,” said Eric D. Green, MD, PhD, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. “These similar genomic features demonstrate hitherto unknown commonalities among these cancers.” National Institutes of Health Press Release; May 1, 2013
