Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Gynecologic Carcinosarcoma: A Single-Institution Experience

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 15; no. 19; p. 4690
• Main Authors: Mercado, Kristina E, Badiner, Nora M, Wang, Canty, Denham, Laura, Unternaehrer, Juli J, Hong, Linda J, Ioffe, Yevgeniya J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 23.09.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: African Americans; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Carboplatin; Care and treatment; Cervical cancer; Cervix; Chemotherapy; Data collection; Diagnosis; ethnic disparity; Ethnicity; gynecologic carcinosarcoma; Hispanic people; Hypotheses; incidence; Malignancy; malignant mixed Mullerian tumor; Minorities; Minority & ethnic groups; Ovarian cancer; overall survival; Pacific Islander people; Paclitaxel; Patients; Population studies; Race; racial disparity; Radiation therapy; Reproductive system; Survival; Uterus; United States > US
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers15194690

We aimed to determine the incidence, treatment regimen, and treatment outcomes (including progression-free survival and overall survival) of gynecologic carcinosarcoma, a rare, aggressive, and understudied gynecologic malignancy. This retrospective review included all patients with gynecologic cancers diagnosed and treated at a single tertiary care comprehensive cancer center between January 2012 and May 2021. A total of 2116 patients were eligible for review, of which 84 cases were identified as carcinosarcoma: 66 were uterine (5.2% of uterine cancers), 17 were ovarian (3.6% of ovarian cancers), 1 was cervical (0.28% of cervical cancers), and 1 was untyped. Of the patients, 76.2% presented advanced-stage disease (stage III/IV) at the time of diagnosis. Minority patients were more likely to present with stage III/IV (p < 0.0001). The majority of patients underwent surgical resection followed by systemic chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel. The median PFS was 7.5 months. Of the patients, 55% were alive 1 year after diagnosis, and 45% were alive at 5 years. In the studied population, minorities were more likely to present with more advanced disease. The rate of gynecologic carcinosarcomas was consistent with historical reports.