Translational research in endometrial cancer

In endometrial cancer two major types (Type I and Type II) are distinguished with a marked prognostic difference between them. The most common lesions (Type I) are oestrogen dependent, of low stage and are associated with a favourable prognosis. Type II tumours follow an oestrogenunrelated pathway and are poorly differentiated. They account for only ~15% of all endometrial carcinomas but are responsible for ~50% of all relapses and carry a poor prognosis. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment followed - according to stage and type - by irradiation and chemotherapy. Optimal treatment is not known for advanced stage Type I endometrial cancers or in general for Type II cancers and survival continues to be poor. Advances in molecular biology have provided us with insight into a heterogeneous disease with molecular alterations that diverge between Type I and Type II cancers unveiling a spectrum of potential targets for therapeutic intervention and promising an opportunity for more individualised treatment. This paper is focusing predominantly on therapies targeting the angiogenesis and the epidermal growth factor receptor pathways but will briefly elucidate the agents targeting the mTOR-pathway and highlight a few others.