Personalizing endometrial cancer care beyond histology: clinical applications and limits of molecular classification.

Abstract

Endometrial cancer is a biologically heterogeneous disease whose management has been reshaped by molecular classification. This review summarizes the current evidence supporting the integration of molecular subgroups into prognostic assessment and treatment personalization across stages of disease. The Cancer Genome Atlas classification and its clinically applicable surrogates identify four major molecular categories: POLE-mutated, mismatch repair-deficient, p53-abnormal, and no specific molecular profile tumors. These groups differ substantially in biology, prognosis, treatment sensitivity, and areas of unmet need. POLE-mutated tumors have an excellent prognosis and represent the clearest candidates for adjuvant treatment de-escalation, particularly in early-stage disease. Mismatch repair-deficient tumors show intermediate prognosis but strong sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibition, which has transformed the management of advanced and recurrent disease and is now being tested in earlier settings. p53-abnormal tumors represent the highest-risk subgroup, requiring multimodal treatment and offering opportunities for biomarker-driven strategies including HER2-directed therapy and DNA damage repair targeting. No specific molecular profile tumors remain the most heterogeneous category, increasingly refined by estrogen receptor status, grade, L1 cell adhesion molecule overexpression, and other biomarkers. Mismatch repair-proficient advanced/recurrent disease should be interpreted as a composite clinical trial population rather than a molecular class. Molecular classification should be integrated with traditional clinicopathologic factors, emerging biomarkers, and local implementation strategies to support equitable, biologically informed treatment selection in endometrial cancer.