Mechanisms and Emerging Targeted Therapies of Uterine Serous Carcinoma

Categorized as a subtype of endometrial cancer, uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is the most destructive among other subtypes, where surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were historically the only curative modalities. Although these modalities may appear significantly effective, the first 5-year survival rate after first-phase treatments remains low due to the high recurrence rate of USC tumors. To address these challenges, many tests are done to identify mutated genes, and corresponding targeted therapies are developed, such as TP53-targeting drugs, HER-2-targeted therapies, and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which will be elaborated on in the subsequent sections. The main reason for developing targeted therapies is that the side effects are significantly reduced compared to conventional therapies; they offer greater precision, which leads to better outcomes, and a possible cancer-free future for patients. This paper provides an overview of mechanisms and emerging targeted therapies for USC, along with a brief analysis of USC and its conventional therapies, which offers new ideas and directions for pathological research and clinical treatment of USC and other complex cancers.