Abstract: Endometrial cancer is one of the common malignant tumors of the female reproductive system. The most common pathological form of endometrial cancer is endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma. The prognosis of early endometrial cancer is better, but there are still a few patients with poor prognosis. Factors that affect the prognosis of endometrial cancer include histological grade, depth of myometrial invasion, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), cervical stroma involvement, and lymph node metastasis. Microcystic, elongated and fragmented (MELF) pattern is a special myometrial invasion pattern of endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Several studies have confirmed that the MELF pattern is associated with some adverse pathological factors that affect the prognosis, but the prognostic significance of MELF pattern remains unclear. Clinicopathological features and prognostic significance of MELF pattern are now discussed in this review in order to provide a theoretical reference for the related research of MELF pattern in the future.

Key words: Endometrial neoplasms, Neoplasm invasiveness, Microcystic, elongated, fragmented pattern of invasion, Prognosis