Molecular testing in gynecological malignancies

Abstract

Approximately 84,000 new cases of gynecological malignancies are diagnosed in the USA each year. Their five main sites of origin are vulvar, vaginal, cervical, uterine, and ovarian. Each site can give rise to multiple subtypes of epithelial, stromal, and, in the case of ovarian lesions, germ cell tumors, which can also have extra-gonadal origins. Fallopian tube carcinomas were regarded as rare until recently, but are now considered together with epithelial cancers of the ovary and, in fact, may account for the majority of tumors historically classified as serous ovarian carcinomas (reviewed in ref. Ann Oncol 24:viii28-35, 2013). Primary serous peritoneal carcinomas are morphologically and clinically identical to ovarian or fallopian tube serous carcinomas but do not affect any of these two organs. These lesions have also been regarded as rare but probably also account for many of the tumors historically classified as serous ovarian carcinomas (Ann Oncol 24:viii28-35, 2013; Lancet Oncol 9:1191-97, 2008).