Leiomyosarcoma of the uterus: clinicopathologic study of 21 cases.

A detailed clinicopathologic study of 21 patients with uterine leiomyosarcoma was undertaken. The diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma was made for those uterine smooth muscle tumors showing cellular atypia and 5-9 mitoses per 10 high-powered fields (M/10 HPF) and those with 10 or more M/10 HPF. Using these strict pathologic criteria to define leiomyosarcoma, menopausal status, margin type (pushing vs infiltrating), tumor size, grade, location, and the presence of vascular invasion and/or hemorrhage were not associated with prognosis. The 5-year survival rate was 25%. Survival rates were not improved by the use of adjuvant chemotherapy in those patients rendered free of gross disease by initial surgery.