Late recurrence in endometrial carcinoma.

This report describes a patient with a recurrence of endometrial carcinoma 26.5 years after diagnosis, a much longer interval to recurrence than previously reported. She presented at age 47 years with an International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) grade 2, Stage IA adenoacanthoma and was treated with an intracavitary radium implant followed by radical hysterectomy. Pathologic examination showed the tumor to be confined to the corpus with only superficial myometrial invasion. She subsequently developed an isolated lower vaginal recurrence histologically identical to the original tumor. The patient was retreated with radiation therapy, and is currently alive and free of disease. This report emphasizes the possibility of late recurrence of endometrial carcinoma even with favorable prognostic features (Stage I, superficial invasion, younger than age 50 years, adenoacanthoma, preoperative irradiation).