Use of trastuzumab in the treatment of metastatic endometrial cancer

Systemic therapy of metastatic endometrial cancer is relatively ineffective. Response rates to chemotherapy and hormonal therapy in published studies range from 11% to 57%, but most responses are partial and of limited duration. In this case, we present a 76-year-old woman with stage IIIA endometrial adenocarcinoma who was initially treated with surgery and pelvic radiation. She developed multiple pulmonary metastases. She was treated with weekly paclitaxel chemotherapy. Immunostaining revealed that the primary endometrial cancer overexpressed HER-2/neu. Trastuzumab was added to the regimen, and a dramatic partial response was achieved. After a second pulmonary relapse following discontinuation of prior therapy, she was again successfully treated with trastuzumab in combination with paclitaxel and then docetaxel. Therefore, trastuzumab may be a useful adjuvant to taxane-based chemotherapy in some patients with metastatic endometrial cancers that overexpress HER-2/neu.