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Fertility-sparing hormonal treatment of early endometrial cancer

For young women with the earliest, low-grade endometrial cancers, progestin pills or a hormonal IUD can clear the cancer and allow pregnancy before a later hysterectomy.

Candidates: grade 1 endometrioid carcinoma confined to the endometrium on MRI, PR-positive, no myometrial invasion. Complete response ~70-80% at 12 months with oral megestrol/medroxyprogesterone or a levonorgestrel IUD (often combined with metformin or hysteroscopic resection); recurrence ~30%; live-birth rates ~30-40% with assisted reproduction. Hysterectomy after childbearing is recommended.

Generic schematic · not to scale · placeholder for the hormonal front
Oestrogen receptor · Ligand pocket blocked / receptor degraded · Oestrogen kept out

How it works

Progestin-induced differentiation and apoptosis of hormone-responsive endometrial cancer cells under close endometrial sampling surveillance.

Strengths
  • Preserves fertility in a disease increasingly diagnosed in women under 45
  • Minimal toxicity
Limitations
  • Recurrence risk ~30%
  • Requires strict imaging and biopsy follow-up
  • Not appropriate for grade 2-3, p53-abnormal, or invasive disease

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