Sarcoma of the cervix: natural history and outcomes

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical sarcomas are rare neoplasms thought to follow an aggressive course. We examined the natural history of cervical sarcomas and compared their outcomes to that of squamous cell and adenocarcinomas of the cervix. In addition, we examined the prognostic significance of various demographic, clinical, and treatment related factors.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify all women with primary cervical sarcomas diagnosed between 1988 and 2005. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of women with cervical sarcomas were compared to patients with squamous cell and adenocarcinomas of the cervix. Survival was examined using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models and the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: A total of 33,074 women with invasive cervical neoplasms were identified including 323 (1%) patients with cervical sarcomas. Among women with cervical sarcomas, carcinosarcoma was the most common and accounted for 40% (128) of the cases while adenosarcomas and leiomyosarcomas each accounted for 21% (67). Compared to women with squamous cell and adenocarcinomas, patients with cervical sarcomas tended to be younger, diagnosed in the later years of the study, have larger tumors, and have more advanced stage disease (p<0.05 for all). After adjusting for other known prognostic factors, patients with cervical sarcomas were 60% more likely to die from their tumors (cancer-specific survival HR=1.60; 95% CI, 1.30-1.96), (overall survival HR=1.60; 95% CI, 1.36-1.89) than patients with squamous cell carcinomas. A separate multivariable analysis limited to women with cervical sarcomas revealed no difference in survival for any of the sarcoma subtypes.

Conclusion: Primary cervical sarcomas are aggressive neoplasms. The prognosis for women with cervical sarcomas is inferior to that of squamous cell and adenocarcinomas matched by stage.