Laparoscopic treatment of endometrial cancer: five-year recurrence and survival rates

PURPOSE: To evaluate the 5-year recurrence and survival of patients with clinical Stage I endometrial cancer treated by the laparoscopic approach. METHODS: Retrospective review of 56 patients with clinical Stage I endometrial cancer treated laparoscopically. The mean follow-up was 6.4 (4.8-9.6) years. The International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FIGO) surgical staging was: I, 45 (80.4%); II, three (5.4%); III, six (10.7%); and IV, two (3.6%). RESULTS: For patients with surgical Stage I (n = 45), the 5-year recurrence rate was 4.9% and the 5-year cause-specific survival was 94.7%. Factors univariately associated with survival were grade (p = .017), depth of myometrial invasion (p = .018), node metastasis (p = .013), and surgical stage according to FIGO (p = .097). CONCLUSION: The laparoscopic approach provided 5-year survival and recurrence rates similar to those previously attained by laparotomy in our institution.