Gynecol Oncol 2019 Jul 22
Lymph node micrometastases and outcome of endometrial cancer.   
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND
The relationship between nodal micrometastases and clinical outcome of endometrial cancer is unclear.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
We performed a multicenter, retrospective registry-based study of 2392 patients with endometrial cancer with and without nodal micrometastases. The primary outcome measure was disease-free survival.
RESULTS
After exclusions, the final study involved 428 patients: 302 (70.6%) with node-negative endometrial cancer, who did not receive adjuvant treatment, 95 (22.2%) with nodal micrometastases who received adjuvant treatment, and 31 (7.2%) with nodal micrometastases who did not receive adjuvant treatment. The median follow-up was 84.8 months. Without adjuvant therapy the disease-free survival in the cohort of patients with micrometastases was significantly reduced as compared with disease-free survival in the node-negative cohort (p = 0.0001). With adjuvant therapy the median disease-free survival of patients with nodal micrometastases was similar with those of node-negative patients (p = 0.648). The adjusted hazard ratio for disease events among patients with micrometastases and no adjuvant therapy, as compared with node-negative patients, was 2.23 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-3.95). In the cohort with micrometastases the relative risk of events was significantly decreased by adjuvant therapy (HR 0.29, 95%CI 0.13-0.65) even after adjustment for age at diagnosis, myometrial invasion, histological grade and type, and performance status.
CONCLUSIONS
Nodal micrometastases are associated with decreased disease-free survival of patients with endometrial cancer. Adjuvant therapy was associated with improved disease-free survival of patients with micrometastases.

Related Questions