Question 1

What are the four molecular subgroups of endometrial cancer?

Accepted Answer

Endometrial cancer is now understood to fall into four biologically distinct molecular subgroups: cancers with a particular mutation in the POLE gene (typically with an excellent outlook), cancers that are mismatch repair deficient (often responsive to immunotherapy), cancers with a "p53-abnormal" pattern (more aggressive, often serous-type), and a copy-number-low group with intermediate behaviour. This molecular classification is one of the most important shifts in modern endometrial cancer research, because it shapes how trials are designed.

Question 2

What does it mean for endometrial cancer to be mismatch repair deficient?

Accepted Answer

Cells normally have a built-in proofreading system, called mismatch repair, that fixes errors when DNA is copied. When that proofreading system is broken, cancer cells accumulate large numbers of DNA errors and become highly visible to the immune system. Endometrial cancer is one of the cancers where mismatch repair deficiency is most common, and it's one of the most important biological features in endometrial cancer research, particularly for immunotherapy.

Question 3

What does HER2 status mean in endometrial cancer?

Accepted Answer

HER2 is a protein found on the surface of all cells, but in some endometrial cancers, particularly the more aggressive serous subtype, the cancer cells make far too much of it. HER2 overexpression is one of the actively studied biological features in endometrial cancer research, because a family of treatments including targeted therapies and antibody-drug conjugates has been developed to act on tumours that carry it.

Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer clinical trials in Australia

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Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer clinical trials: common questions

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