Funding outcome

Uterine smooth muscle tumors represent the most common tumors of the female reproductive system, better known as fibroids, which are benign. However, some of these tumors can be cancerous (called leiomyosarcomas- uLMS), and in rare cases there is a middle category: smooth muscle tumors of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP). Diagnosis of STUMP and uLMS is tricky because they can look and act like fibroids. Therefore, most of the time these are diagnosed post-operatively. To complicate things, STUMP can also recur, often a long time (years) after initial surgery, and there is limited consensus on how surveillance is done. Our objective is to propose a standard for how frequent, how long, and by what methods these patients should be followed to catch a recurrence to ensure best use of limited resources in a public healthcare setting. We aim to achieve this by looking at the outcomes and recurrence in uLMS and STUMP tumors in Alberta from the past 10 years (2015-2025), and then survey doctors that treat these tumors in Canada to see how they are being followed. Thus, the development of these standardized guidelines will support decision-making among physicians in the care and management of patients with STUMP tumors.