Minimally invasive surgery for endometrial cancer: a comprehensive review

Purpose of review: The objective of this article is to review the recently published literature on the use of minimally invasive surgical approaches for patients with endometrial cancer. Methods: Narrative review of the pertinent literature on traditional laparoscopy and robotically assisted laparoscopy for the treatment of endometrial cancer. Results: Multiple studies have shown that minimally invasive surgical approaches for the treatment of endometrial cancer reduce blood loss, length of hospital stay and the incidence and severity of post-operative surgical complications compared with laparotomy. Minimally invasive techniques maintain equivalent oncologic results with regard to the number of dissected lymph nodes and overall and disease-free survival rates. Robotically assisted laparoscopy compared to traditional laparoscopy reduced the conversion rate to laparotomy, further reduces intra-operative blood lose and has significant ergonomic advantages for the surgeon. Laparoscopic and robotic surgery techniques are particularly advantageous in obese patients, reducing peri-operative and post-operative abdominal wound complications. Conclusions: A thorough review of the literature indicates that minimally invasive approach has a number of established advantages over laparotomy that makes it the surgical treatment option of choice in endometrial carcinoma patients.