Treatment outcomes of corpus uteri cancer at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenya: A 10-year retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Corpus uteri cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with 417 000 new cases diagnosed annually. It has a wide variation in incidence, with the highest and lowest rates reported in North America and Africa, respectively.

Objective: To describe the clinicopathological and treatment outcomes of corpus uteri cancer at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenya.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive review of the database of all corpus uteri cancer patients seen at MTRH between 2011 and 2021 was conducted. Data were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 24. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed, and the results were presented in tables and figures. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: 95 files were included in this study. The mean age of the participants was 62 years. Most participants, 88 (92.6%)  and 61 (64.3%) were postmenopausal and multiparous, respectively. Endometrial cancer and uterine sarcoma accounted for 72% and 23% of all cases, respectively. Endometrioid and carcinosarcoma were the most common histological types in each group. Recurrence mostly occurred within the first two years after treatment and was mainly locoregional in 75% of cases. Adjuvant treatment included chemotherapy and radiotherapy. There was a higher survival rate among patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy than those who underwent multimodal treatment (p-value=0.0001). There was no significant difference in survival between patients with endometrial cancer and those with sarcoma (p-value=0.089).

Conclusion: Corpus uteri cancer is common in postmenopausal and multiparous women presenting at advanced stages. Adjuvant therapy did not confer any additional survival benefit, particularly in patients who received multimodal treatment.