What are the treatments to preserve fertility in patients with early stage endometrial cancer?

       Some patients ask what are the treatment options if the conditions for conservative treatment of early stage endometrial cancer are met? Is it mainly by taking drugs? What drugs are available? How long do I need to take them to stop taking them? How long can I try to conceive after stopping the medication? Is there any effect on children?  At present, there is no unified treatment standard for early-stage endometrial cancer patients to preserve their fertility, and the treatment is mainly based on highly effective progestin drugs. The long-term efficacy is unknown and the specific treatment regimen needs to be individualized.  1. High-dose high-efficiency progestins were the first drugs used in the treatment of endometrial cancer to preserve fertility, and oral medroxyprogesterone acetate and megestrol acetate are the most common. A general treatment cycle of 3-6 months requires hysteroscopy or segmental scraping pathology every 3 months to assess the responsiveness of the endometrium to drug therapy and the patient’s tolerance to progestin, and to decide whether to continue conservative treatment. The pathology indicates that the endometrial lesions are completely normalized before the medication is discontinued, and artificial assisted reproduction is the best option as soon as possible after discontinuation of the medication. After high-dose progestogen therapy, the rate of complete endometrial remission has been reported to be 76.20%, with a successful delivery rate of 28%, and the success rate of pregnancy with assisted reproductive technology is 51.8%-83%, with a normal delivery rate of over 80%. So far, there is no report of congenital malformation birth.  2.High-efficiency progestin is used for a long time and some patients interrupt treatment due to side effects such as abnormal liver function, venous thrombosis, increased blood sugar, obesity and edema. In recent years, clinical attempts have been made to synchronize the application of intrauterine placement of Manuel with oral medroxyprogesterone acetate 500mg/day, which is an intrauterine device capable of releasing 20 micrograms/day of progesterone directly into the endometrium. The systemic side effects can be reduced. Then, according to the patient’s recent fertility requirements, the time limit for the use of Mannorrhea is decided. About 80% of the patients have their endometrium completely normalized after an average of 6 months of combined treatment, and 25% of the patients have successful pregnancy through fertility assistance.  3.Hysteroscopic local cancer excision combined with high-efficiency progestin therapy. Hysteroscopic direct vision can comprehensively assess the location and scope of lesions, and can remove suspicious lesions for histopathological examination to avoid overtreatment and delayed treatment, as well as reduce tumor load, improve the therapeutic effect of postoperative high-efficiency progestin or progestin-releasing intrauterine device, shorten the drug treatment cycle, and reduce systemic side effects of progestin. It has been reported that oral progestin megestrol 160 mg/day was started on day 5-7 after hysteroscopic lesion excision for a total of 6 months or postoperative intrauterine placement of mannitol for 12 months, with a complete remission rate of 100% and postoperative follow-up of 13-79 months, with only one case of reissue staged surgery and spontaneous pregnancy in 33% of patients after surgery. There are limited reports.  4. There is a report of complete remission rate of 57.1% after 6 months of treatment with Manuelle combined with GnRHa. However, the efficacy of treatment with mannitol alone is not good, and 75% of patients eventually undergo staged surgery due to the persistence of tumor.  5. Other drugs such as aromatase inhibitors letrozole and selective estrogen receptor antagonists have yet to be proven for their specific effects and efficacy.  Remember that the efficacy of any conservative treatment is limited, and some of them are ineffective and lead to disease progression, which not only cannot preserve the reproductive function, but even cost the lives of patients. Therefore, patients with endometrial cancer should choose conservative treatment with caution.