Diffusely infiltrating adenocarcinoma of the endometrium. A subtype with poor prognosis.

We studied cases of stage I endometrial adenocarcinoma encountered at our institution during the period 1970-80. Five out of 164 of these tumors showed a diffusely infiltrating pattern of growth. Two of the five patients died of cancer within 5 years, with a 5-year mortality of 40%. A control group of 15 patients seen over the same period showed a 5-year mortality of 13.3%. Thus, the diffusely infiltrating pattern of growth was indicative of poor prognosis in endometrial carcinoma in stage I disease.