In developed countries, cancer of the endometrium (EC) is the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs, affecting mainly postmenopausal women. The highest incidence of EC is in Northern America and Europe, and the lowest incidence in Africa and Asia, but its incidence is growing around the world. Several factors influence the risk of developing EC, including: impaired hormone levels, obesity, physical activity, family history, and having been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer in the past. For EC, a standard screening test does not exist. It is often diagnosed at stage I/II due to frequent vaginal bleeding, while invasive EC (stage III/IV) is mainly diagnosed in its advanced stage.
Despite its frequency, standard management is a matter of discussion. Perspectives on lymphadenectomy have changed since the introduction of the sentinel node identification technique. It is generally believed that this new technique will be incorporated into standard management of the disease. Apart from this, the clinical benefits of adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy depend on the pathology type and also have not yet been clearly defined.
Despite the different clinical improvements when EC is progressed to the advanced/metastatic stage, the patients still have poor prognoses and unsatisfactory outcomes with conventional chemotherapy. The need for precision drugs is underscored by the limited number of options these patients have.
This Research Topic asks, how does the recognition of different pathology types influence the surgical approach taken, e.g., the extent of surgical staging, and subsequent adjuvant therapy? The introduction of new techniques like the sentinel node biopsy needs broad coverage. EC has been recently studied in regards to the discovery of new biological characteristics, such as identification of transcriptome, proteome and metabolomics profiles, and new potential diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers. All of these data could together could aid in the cure of EC.
The scope of this collection is to welcome articles and reviews from clinicians and scientists around the world in order to give an updated vision of the recent clinical insights, technical advances, and cellular and molecular targets related to endometrial cancer.
In developed countries, cancer of the endometrium (EC) is the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs, affecting mainly postmenopausal women. The highest incidence of EC is in Northern America and Europe, and the lowest incidence in Africa and Asia, but its incidence is growing around the world. Several factors influence the risk of developing EC, including: impaired hormone levels, obesity, physical activity, family history, and having been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer in the past. For EC, a standard screening test does not exist. It is often diagnosed at stage I/II due to frequent vaginal bleeding, while invasive EC (stage III/IV) is mainly diagnosed in its advanced stage.
Despite its frequency, standard management is a matter of discussion. Perspectives on lymphadenectomy have changed since the introduction of the sentinel node identification technique. It is generally believed that this new technique will be incorporated into standard management of the disease. Apart from this, the clinical benefits of adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy depend on the pathology type and also have not yet been clearly defined.
Despite the different clinical improvements when EC is progressed to the advanced/metastatic stage, the patients still have poor prognoses and unsatisfactory outcomes with conventional chemotherapy. The need for precision drugs is underscored by the limited number of options these patients have.
This Research Topic asks, how does the recognition of different pathology types influence the surgical approach taken, e.g., the extent of surgical staging, and subsequent adjuvant therapy? The introduction of new techniques like the sentinel node biopsy needs broad coverage. EC has been recently studied in regards to the discovery of new biological characteristics, such as identification of transcriptome, proteome and metabolomics profiles, and new potential diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers. All of these data could together could aid in the cure of EC.
The scope of this collection is to welcome articles and reviews from clinicians and scientists around the world in order to give an updated vision of the recent clinical insights, technical advances, and cellular and molecular targets related to endometrial cancer.