Sarcomatous Component in Uterine Carcinosarcomas Correlates With Advanced Stage and Poorer Prognosis.

Uterine carcinosarcomas, also known as malignant-mixed mullerian tumors, are rare and highly aggressive tumors whose prognostic factors remain controversial. The stage at the time of presentation is the most important prognostic factor thus far, but little information exists on the prognostic impact of the sarcomatous component (SC) in these tumors. We reviewed 21 cases of uterine carcinosarcomas and estimated the volume of the SC in each case.

Decline in Frozen Section Diagnosis for Axillary Sentinel Lymph Nodes as a Result of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011 Trial.

Context: -Results of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011 trial showed that patients with early-stage breast cancer and limited sentinel node metastasis treated with breast conservation and systemic therapy did not benefit from axillary lymph node dissection. Subsequently, most pathology departments have likely seen a decrease in frozen section diagnosis of sentinel lymph nodes.

Objective: -To determine the effect of the Z0011 trial on pathology practice and to examine the utility of intraoperative sentinel lymph node evaluation for this subset of patients.