Uterine Cancer (Uterine Sarcoma) Treatment Program

Overview

Patients at our Center for Gynecologic Oncology are treated by gynecologic cancer specialists experienced in local and advanced uterine cancer. We offer expert care for women with:

• Leiomyosarcoma (cancer that begins in smooth muscle cells)
• Mixed mullerian tumors (carcinosarcoma)
• Endometrial stromal sarcoma (cancer that begins in connective tissue cells)
• Adenosarcomas

Innovative Approaches

Among the innovative approaches offered here are:

• Highly coordinated care by a team of gynecologic cancer specialists
• Access to new therapies through clinical trials
• Robotic-assisted and minimally invasive surgeries
• Advanced radiation therapy techniques, including technologies offered at only a few other centers nationwide

Multidisciplinary Patient Care

Your personalized treatment plan will be developed by experts from an array of gynecologic cancer specialties. Depending on the stage and other characteristics of your cancer, this treatment plan may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these therapies.

The specialists involved in your care may include:

• Medical Oncologists to prescribe the most effective chemotherapy treatments and discuss available clinical trials
• Radiation Oncologists who specialize in delivering the highest therapeutic dose while protecting healthy tissue
• Surgical Oncologists experienced in the latest minimally-invasive gynecologic surgery approaches
• Oncology nurses and nurse practitioners who specialize in cancer care
• Pathologists specializing in gynecologic cancers who provide a precise diagnosis of your cancer
• Radiologists specializing in gynecologic malignancies that help guide the selection of appropriate imaging tests and provide accurate interpretation
• Oncology psychiatrists and social workers experienced in helping with the cognitive side effects of cancer and treatment, as well the emotional and spiritual aspects of the cancer experience
• A nutritionist to help you with questions about diet and nutrition during treatment
• Palliative care providers to improve quality of life

Expertise in Diagnosing and Staging Cancers

Our pathologists are sub-specialized in identifying gynecologic cancers. This expertise leads to more accurate diagnosis and staging, which forms the basis for your treatment.

Our gynecologic cancer pathologists are internationally recognized and consulted on the diagnosis of uterine cancer. They participate in weekly tumor board meetings, sharing information about each patient’s unique cancer with the entire treatment team to help guide care planning.

Our skilled radiologists employ all the most advanced imaging methods and perform image-guided interventional procedures such as CT-guided biopsy.

Advancing Care by Improving Medicine

Based on your overall health and the stage and other characteristics of your cancer, your medical oncologist may recommend traditional or novel approaches to chemotherapy such as:

• Therapies for drug-resistant tumors that help boost sensitivity to chemotherapy
• Targeted therapies

Because we have a high number of patients using these approaches, we are familiar with medical, lifestyle, and complementary approaches, such as acupuncture, for minimizing side effects.

Excellence in Surgical Care

We treat thousands of patients each year and are a recognized leader in gynecologic cancer surgery, in both rare and common cancers. Studies show that high-volume experience results in improved patient outcomes. We offer the latest surgical innovations with emphasis on minimally invasive procedures.

Learn about Mass General's Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Center.

Surgical Outcomes for the Ovaries & Uterus

The Center for Outcomes & Patient Safety in Surgery (COMPASS) ensures that data related to obstetric care and treatment of conditions of the ovaries & uterus is transparent and accessible for patients as they make important health decisions. 

In this video, learn about performance data for Mass General obstetric and gynecologic care.

Pioneering Radiation Therapies

We offer a full spectrum of radiation therapy treatments including some approaches available at just a few other medical centers in the U.S. Depending on the type and stage of your disease, your treatment may include:

• Proton beam therapy
• Intraoperative radiation therapy
• Concurrent chemotherapy and radiation
• Intensity modulated radiation therapy
• Outpatient high-dose rate brachytherapy
• Exceptional precision to minimize the impact of treatment on sexual and hormonal functions

Learn about our gynecologic radiation oncology program.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies of new drugs, new combinations of drugs or already approved drugs being studied to treat patients in new and different ways. They may include new drug doses or new ways (schedules) to give the drugs. Clinical trials are run under strict guidelines. Their purpose is to help find out whether new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard (current) treatment. At Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, there are several clinical trials open for the treatment of uterine cancer that use the latest in cancer treatments.

Cancer is increasingly becoming a disease in which the genetic make-up of each individual cancer drives therapy. The Center for Gynecologic Oncology also has access to clinical trials involving these targeted therapy approaches.

Find listings of our current clinical trials for Uterine Cancer.