Dedifferentiated Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma of the Uterus

Abstract

Dedifferentiation confers more aggressive malignant behaviour than would be otherwise shown by the original tumor if present alone. This phenomenon has been described in several tumors, both mesenchymal and epithelial. Dedifferentiated endometrioid carcinoma either ovarian or endometrial is the latest addition to this family of tumors. Only 2 papers have appeared in the literature so far on the topic of dedifferentiated endometrioid carcinoma, both from the same institution. We report herein a case of endometrial dedifferentiated endometrioid carcinoma in a 45-year old lady with ovarian metastasis from the undifferentiated component. The primary endometrial tumor showed an undifferentiated component in an otherwise low grade endometrioid carcinoma. The undifferentiated component of these tumors can be misdiagnosed as the solid component of FIGO grade 3 in a pure endometrioid carcinoma. The recognition of an undifferentiated component in an otherwise low grade endometrioid carcinoma is very important, since dedifferentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma has a worse prognosis when compared with FIGO grade 3 endometrioid carcinoma.