Significance of lower uterine segment involvement in women with stage I endometrial adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether lower uterine segment involvement (LUSI) correlates with recurrence and survival in women with stage I endometrial adenocarcinoma who do not receive postoperative radiotherapy on the basis of this histologic criterion. STUDY DESIGN: Eighty patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma stage I who underwent surgery between 1989 and 2002 were divided into 2 groups according to the presence of LUSI. Group 1 consisted of 25 patients with LUSI; group 2 consisted of 55 patients without LUSI. The 2 groups were compared with regard to prognostic factors and outcome measures. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups with regard to the following parameters: age and proportion of patients who underwent complete surgical staging and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy. Pathologic parameters of the 2 groups, such as histologic type, grade and deep myometrial invasion, were comparable. A greater proportion of patients with LUSI had capillary space-like involvement. The patients were followed for a median of 48 months (range, 11-168) from the date of surgery. The overall 5-year recurrence-free survival, disease-specific survival and overall survival rates were 91% (SE .04), 94% (SE .03) and 77% (SE .06), respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups with regards to these measures (P<.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with stage I endometrial cancer, the presence of lower uterine segment involvement does not correlate with their outcome.