What is Uterine Leiomyosarcoma?
“Uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS) is a rare uterine malignancy that arises from the smooth muscle of the uterine wall. Compared with other types of uterine cancers, LMS is an aggressive tumor associated with a high risk of recurrence and death, regardless of stage at presentation.” Taken from ‘up to date’ a site used by medical professions with a wide variety of up to date medical information.
What causes Uterine Leiomyosarcoma?
“The exact cause of uterine leiomyosarcoma is unknown. They often occur spontaneously, for no apparent reason. In extremely rare cases, some researchers believe they may signify a malignant change (transformation) of a benign (noncancerous) fibroid.” taken from rarediseases.org
According to other sources: “Experts aren’t exactly sure what causes leiomyosarcoma. It could be hereditary (meaning you inherited altered genes from your parents), or it could be because your own genes changed, causing cells to grow out of control. Leiomyosarcoma may also occur due to: Past radiation therapy.
Symptoms vary from woman to woman
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Heavy periods
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A rapidly growing fibroid
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Abnormal vaginal bleeding
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Abnormal or mucousy vaginal discharge
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Pelvic pain or pressure
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Pain or discomfort during sexual intercourse.
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Abdominal pain or pressure
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Abdominal bloating and distention
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Change in bladder or bowel habits
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Blockage of urinary flow
(Taken from https://www.lmsdr.org/)
Where does Uterine Leiomyosarcoma spread first?
“If uterine sarcoma spreads, it tends to first go to places near the uterus. It can spread to the cervix, vagina, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and lymph nodes. In later stages, as it grows, it can spread to the bladder, bowel, lungs, liver, or bone.” urmc.rochester.com
Interesting studies, trials and researches
My personal experience and findings on the internet and in my network are here to help you find your needle in a haystack.
Targeted Therapy May 2021
The trial aimed to test a novel therapy for uterine leiomyosarcoma called olaparib, a PARP inhibitor originally developed for individuals with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.
Olaparib works by blocking a family of proteins known as PARP that help repair damaged DNA. Harmful mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes lead to faulty DNA repair, and further inhibiting this process with Olaparib can cause cancer cells that carry a BRCA mutation to die.
Case Study Metastic uLMS
Extensive Metastatic Leiomyosarcoma to Multiple
Abdominal Organs from a Prior Uterine High Grade
Leiomyosarcoma. Report of a Case and Review of the
Literature
Pubmed - online global medical library
Study Unique uLMS survivor
This webinar will discuss a unique study that used whole-exome sequencing to understand exceptional survival in a patient with a very rare metastatic cancer, uterine leiomyosarcoma (uLMS), an aggressive sarcoma of the smooth muscle layer of the uterus manifested in high local recurrence and metastatic rate.
In this webinar, Tatiana Omelchenko, Deep Pandya, and Jean-Noël Billaud will present a case study of a treatment-naive patient with aggressive metastatic uLMS and multiple pulmonary metastases who has experienced long-term survival for more than seven years without therapy except for surgery. The speakers analyzed five tumors — one primary and four lung metastases — for shared and unique mutational and transcriptional expression signatures to explore and identify mechanisms of uLMS tumor growth and metastasis in this patient.
Genes uLMS identified
April 2021 – A collaborative team—which included researchers with expertise in gynecological cancer, genomics, pathology, pharmacology, and computational biology from the United States of America, South Korea, Spain, and Italy— identified a number of genes that are frequently mutated in uLMS. Using an integrated and comprehensive genetic approach, scientists identified multiple genes with recurrent alterations in uLMS including the homologous-recombination DNA-repair deficiency (HRD), the alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT), C-MYC/BET, and PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway as potential targets.
Population based study
Treatment options for patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) have increased in the last decade. We aimed to examine whether this is associated with improved overall survival (OS) in patients with STS with synchronous metastases.
MDR 1 gene
Means multi drug resistance. In my DNA testing this gene is an indicator for ABCB1 P-gp, and has shown or is expected to be resistant to
Doxorubicine, daunorubicine,
vincristine, vinblastine,
actinomycin-D, paclitaxel, docetaxel, etoposide, tenoposide, bisantre. Read up on the information here. Talk to your oncologist.