Fertility-sparing surgeries without adjuvant therapy through term pregnancies in a patient with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: A case report

BACKGROUND: Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LGESS) is a rare indolent tumor with a favorable prognosis. With the importance of improving quality of life recognized, fertility-sparing surgery may be an option for those young women. However, most of the reports suggested that stage IA patients might be candidates for fertility-sparing surgery, and adjuvant hormonal treatment was considered a feasible adjuvant therapy for reducing the recurrence risk of patients with LGESS and hysterectomy was recommended after the completion of pregnancy and delivery. CASE SUMMARY: A 28-year-old pregnant woman diagnosed with stage IB LGESS was treated by fertility-sparing surgery when term cesarean section delivery was performed. Without any adjuvant treatment, she had the other successful term pregnancy and cesarean section 45 mo after first fertility-sparing surgery. Moreover, only hysteroscopic resection was performed to retain fertility again even when the tumor recurred after 6 years. So far the patient’s fertility and disease-free status have remained for more than 8 years without any adjuvant therapy despite local resection of the sarcoma. And the two babies were in good health. CONCLUSION: For young patients with stage I LGESS, it seems that repeated fertility-sparing surgeries could be performed even after two term deliveries and the tumor recurrence, and it might be attempted without adjuvant therapy but the counseling should be considered as mandatory.