Corded and hyalinized endometrioid carcinoma: Summary of clinical, histological, immunohistochemical and molecular data

Corded and hyalinized endometrioid carcinoma (CHEC) represents a potential pitfall for pathologists. This study aimed to provide a complete overview of all clinicopathological and molecular features of CHEC. Electronic databases were searched for all published series of CHEC. Clinical, histological, immunohistochemical and molecular data about CHEC were extracted and pooled. Six studies with 62 patients were identified; mean age was 49.8 years (range 19–83). Most cases showed FIGO stage I (68%), low grade (87.5%), and a favorable outcome (78.4%), with “no specific molecular profile” (NSMP). A subset of cases showed high-grade features (12.5%), p53 abnormalities (11.1%) or mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency (20%) and occurred at an older age (mean age>60 years). Common features of CHEC were: superficial localization of the corded component (88.6%), squamous/morular differentiation (82.5%), nuclear β-catenin accumulation (92%), partial/total loss of CKAE1/AE3 (88.9%), estrogen receptor (95.7%) and e-cadherin (100%), stromal changes such as myxoid (38.5%), osteoid (24%) and chondroid (4.5%), CTNNB1 mutations (57.9%), and POLE-wild-type (100%); 24.4% of cases showed lymphovascular space invasion. A minority of cases (16.2%) showed poor outcome despite a low-grade, NSMP phenotype; the molecular basis for the aggressiveness of these cases is still undefined. Further studies are necessary in this field.