Malignant mixed Mullerian tumors of the uterus

Abstract

Objective: To review the prognostic factors of Chinese women with mixed Mullerian tumors of the uterus. Method. A retrospective review of 21 cases of malignant mixed Mullerian tumors of the uterus treated during the 10-year period from 1980 to 1990. Results: All patients except one were postmenopausal. The incidence of previous pelvic irradiation was 9.5%. The most common presenting symptom was abnormal vaginal bleeding. One-third of patients yielded an abnormal cervical smear. Treatment included surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the majority of patients. Prognosis was poor with only three long-term survivors, all with stage-I homologous tumors with superficial myometrial invasion. The survival rate for stage-I and -II disease at 2 years was 50% and for more advanced disease extending beyond the uterus was 0%. The survival rate for all stages at 5 years was 14.3%, and the cumulative probability of survival at 5 years was 0.165. Conclusion: The most important prognostic factors appear to be the extent of tumor involvement at the time of diagnosis and the depth of myometrial invasion.