{"id":646364,"date":"2026-10-06T10:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/646364\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T10:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:30:10","slug":"surgery-the-main-treatment-for-early-endometrial-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/646364\/","title":{"rendered":"Surgery the main treatment for early endometrial cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ireland\u2019s most common gynaecological cancer is treated by drug combinations when surgery is not an option<\/p>\n

Endometrial cancer develops in the lining of the womb and is the most common gynaecological cancer in Ireland. Treatment depends on the stage and grade of the cancer, its histological and molecular characteristics, and the patient\u2019s general health. Care is usually planned by a specialist multidisciplinary team involving gynaecological surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and specialist nurses.<\/p>\n

For most women diagnosed at an early stage, surgery is the main treatment. This usually involves removal of the womb, ovaries and fallopian tubes, with lymph-node assessment in selected cases. Minimally invasive or robotic surgery may be used where appropriate. Some women require no further treatment after surgery, while others may need vaginal brachytherapy, external-beam radiotherapy, chemotherapy or a combination of these treatments, depending on the risk of the cancer returning.<\/p>\n

Patients with endometrial cancer need to be referred to specialist gynaecological oncology services at major treatment centres such as St James\u2019s Hospital, the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St Vincent\u2019s University Hospital in Dublin, Cork University Hospital\/Cork University Maternity Hospital, and University Hospital Galway. Radiotherapy is also delivered through specialist centres, including the St Luke\u2019s Radiation Oncology Network.<\/p>\n

For women with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, systemic drug treatment becomes particularly important. A commonly used chemotherapy combination is carboplatin and paclitaxel. These drugs may also be used alongside radiotherapy in selected high-risk patients following surgery.<\/p>\n

Increasingly, treatment decisions are being influenced by molecular testing of the tumour. One important group is made up of cancers that are mismatch-repair deficient, or dMMR, or microsatellite-instability high, known as MSI-H. These abnormalities can make tumours particularly responsive to certain forms of immunotherapy.<\/p>\n

In Ireland, the National Cancer Control Programme now includes dostarlimab, an immunotherapy targeting the PD-1 pathway, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel for adults with dMMR\/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who require systemic treatment.<\/p>\n

The treatment begins with dostarlimab given alongside chemotherapy, followed by maintenance immunotherapy.<\/p>\n

Dostarlimab may also be used on its own in some patients with dMMR\/MSI-H advanced or recurrent disease whose cancer has progressed during or after previous platinum-based chemotherapy<\/p>\n

The evidence supporting this approach comes principally from the international RUBY Phase III trial, which compared dostarlimab plus carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by dostarlimab maintenance, with chemotherapy alone. The study demonstrated a substantial benefit, particularly among women whose tumours were dMMR\/MSI-H, and helped establish immunotherapy as an important part of treatment for selected patients.<\/p>\n

Clinical trials are another important option. Irish centres including St James\u2019s, St Vincent\u2019s, the Mater and Cork University Hospital participate in international studies of new therapies and combinations. Trials may investigate immunotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates and ways of reducing the side-effects of radiotherapy.<\/p>\n

For patients, the key development is that treatment is becoming increasingly personalised. Surgery remains the cornerstone for early disease, but molecular testing is helping doctors identify patients with advanced or recurrent cancer who may benefit from newer immunotherapies in addition to conventional chemotherapy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland\u2019s most common gynaecological cancer is treated by drug combinations when surgery is not an option Endometrial cancer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":646365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2121,258,274489,42396,103,61,60,178813],"class_list":["post-646364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-womens-health","tag-cancer","tag-dostarlimab","tag-endometrial-cancer","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-obstetrics-and-gynaecology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}