Objective The aim of this retrospective, multi-institutional study was to evaluate the importance of surgical staging for stage I uterine papillary serous carcinomas (UPSCs) to determine optimal management of this rare tumor.

Methods With institutional review board approval from both participating institutions, all patients with 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I mixed serous and UPSC diagnosed between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 2007, were identified at the 2 institutions. Clinical factors were correlated using Spearman correlation coefficients, Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and a Cox proportional hazards model.

Results Of the 204 UPSC patients treated during this period, 84 were classified as stage I, with substages as follows: stage IA, n = 71; stage IB, n = 13. Thirty-seven patients (44%) had a history of a second cancer (22 breast tumors, 9 synchronous müllerian cancers). Surgical staging with at least hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy, and bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection was performed in 60 (71%) of 84 patients. The median survival for all patients was 10 years. Univariate analysis revealed surgical staging (P < 0.001), normal preoperative CA-125 (P < 0.001), and absence of additional cancers (P < 0.01) to be associated with improved survival. Age-adjusted multivariate analysis incorporating these factors revealed that advancing substage (hazard ratio, 4.59; P < 0.05), a second malignancy (hazard ratio, 2.75; P < 0.04), and surgical staging (hazard ratio, 0.18; P < 0.001) were independent factors associated with overall survival. In a subset analysis excluding patients with a second malignancy, substage (hazard ratio, 3.52; P < 0.05), and surgical staging (hazard ratio, 0.16; P < 0.001) were independent factors affecting overall survival.

Conclusions Independent of adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation, stage of disease, comprehensive surgical staging, and the presence of a second malignancy were predictors of overall survival.