Comparison of Laparoscopy and Laparotomy for Management of Endometrial Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis

Long-term outcome of minimally invasive staging surgery for clinical stage I endometrial cancer: A single institute experience in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in developed countries. With recent advances in equipment and knowledge, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is widely accepted for the treatment of endometrial cancer. This study had the largest number of cases to date in Taiwan, comparing outcomes between MIS and laparotomy staging surgery using real-world data with long-term follow-up.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed patients with clinical stage 1 endometrial cancer from 2009 to 2020 in our institute. All patients underwent comprehensive surgical staging procedures by MIS or laparotomy. The safety, morbidity, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) rates of the two groups were compared. Clinical and pathologic factors were compared with Chi-square and Fisher Exact test. PFS and OS were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Differences between survival curves were analyzed using the log-rank test. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Using Cox proportional hazards models, all factors found to be significantly associated with risk of recurrence on univariate analyses were then assessed together through multivariable models, resulting in a final oncologic outcome between MIS and laparotomy.

RESULTS

A total of 665 cases (412 cases in MIS group and 253 cases in laparotomy group) were enrolled for data analysis. Median operation time was shorter in MIS group (244 and 265 minutes, p < 0.001). Median blood loss was also less (75 and 430 mL, p < 0.001). Median postoperative hospitalization duration was longer in the laparotomy group (2 and 7 days, p = 0.001). After adjusting presurgery risk factors, the PFS and OS were no significant difference in MIS and laparotomy groups.

CONCLUSION

Using real-world data with long-term follow-up, we could confirm excellent PFS and OS in selective patients with clinical stage 1 endometrial carcinoma who received MIS, and the surgical time, hospital day, and blood loss were also less.

An institutional study: Does Body Mass Index influence surgical approach, surgical morbidities, and outcomes in endometrial cancer patients?

Background

Endometrial Cancer (EC), the most common genital tract malignancy in women, is recognised to be associated with a high Body Mass Index (BMI).

Objective

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of obesity on intra and post-operative morbidity for patients treated for EC.

Materials and Methods

This was a retrospective observational study including patients with EC that were surgically treated at Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau during nine consecutive years. The patients were divided in groups according to BMI: <30 Kg/m2, ≥30-<40 Kg/m2 and ≥40 Kg/m2. Demographic and pathological characteristics, surgical outcomes, perioperative complications and long-term outcomes were recorded.

Results

The study included 290 patients; 164 patients with BMI <30 Kg/m2(56.5%), 107 patients with ≥30-<40 Kg/m2 36.9%) and 19 patients with ≥40 Kg/m2(6.65%). Patients with BMI ≥40Kg/m2 were younger, presented a higher percentage of endometrioid histology (84.2%, p<0.01), well-differentiated tumours (73.7%, p<0.01) and were more frequently in the initial stages at diagnosis (94.7%) compared to the other groups. A significant percentage of the patients were operated on laparoscopically (88.7%, 88.8%, 94.7% respectively). No significant differences were found in the evaluation of the surgical outcomes. The results relative to complications showed an overall tendency toward increase in the ≥40 Kg/m2 BMI group but no statistical differences were identified among the groups in terms of complications or long-term outcomes.

Conclusions

There was a rising trend towards increased complications with increasing BMI in the study population, however, this was found not to be statistically significant. Therefore, the optimisation of co-morbidities and the adaptation of surgical treatment is important for the management of obese patients with endometrial cancer.

What is new?

The study allows the comparison between groups with different BMI in patients with endometrial cancer. Different surgical outcomes, intra operative, early, and late complications are clearly identified, and survival outcomes are also investigated in our study.

Omentectomy for oncological surgical staging by transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES): a preliminary study

Objective

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of performing omentectomy by transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) for surgical staging of ovarian and high-risk endometrial malignancies.

Methods

This descriptive study was realized in a non-university hospital in Switzerland. Eighteen patients with suspicious adnexal masses or high-risk endometrial cancer underwent surgical staging comprising infracolic omentectomy by vNOTES between May 2020 and April 2023.

Results

Patients underwent oncological surgical staging for suspicious adnexal masses in 14 cases (77.8%) and high-risk endometrial cancer in 4 cases (22.2%). vNOTES omentectomies were performed in all patients without complications. Associated procedures included salpingo-oophorectomy (94.4%), hysterectomy (55.6%), peritoneal biopsies (33.3%), pelvic sentinel lymph node biopsies (22.2%), and appendectomy (5.6%). The median time to perform omentectomies was 9 (4-13) min. All oncological staging were completed by vNOTES. No significant intraoperative complications occurred. We observed 1 case (5.6%) of postoperative fever probably associated with vaginal cuff infection (Clavien-Dindo grade II).

Conclusions

This study demonstrated the feasibility of performing vNOTES oncological staging requiring complex extrapelvic procedures such as infracolic omentectomy, supporting its potential role for managing gynecological malignancies such as ovarian and high-risk endometrial cancers. However, before expanding this approach outside study settings, strong evidence of its feasibility, practical benefits, and long-term oncological outcomes are needed.

Laparoscopy versus laparotomy for the management of early stage endometrial cancer

BACKGROUND

This is an update of a previous Cochrane Review published in 2012, Issue 9.Surgery for endometrial cancer (hysterectomy with removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries) is performed through laparotomy. It has been suggested that the laparoscopic approach is associated with a reduction in operative morbidity. Over the last two decades there has been a steady increase of the use of laparoscopy for endometrial cancer. This review investigated the evidence of benefits and harms of laparoscopic surgery compared with laparotomy for presumed early stage endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVES

To compare overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) for laparoscopic surgery versus laparotomy in women with presumed early stage endometrial cancer.

SEARCH METHODS

For this update, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2018, Issue 5) in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE via Ovid (April 2012 to June 2018) and Embase via Ovid (April 2012 to June 2018). We also searched registers of clinical trials, abstracts of scientific meetings and reference lists of included studies. The trial registers included NHMRC Clinical Trials Register, UKCCCR Register of Cancer Trials, Meta-Register and Physician Data Query Protocol.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing laparoscopy and laparotomy for early stage endometrial cancer.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We independently abstracted data and assessed risk of bias. We used hazard ratios (HRs) for OS and recurrence free survival (RFS), risk ratios (RR) for severe adverse events and mean differences (MD) for continuous outcomes in women who received laparoscopy or laparotomy with 9% confidence intervals (CI). These were pooled in random-effects meta-analyses.

MAIN RESULTS

We identified one new study in this update of the review. The review contains nine RCTs comparing laparoscopy with laparotomy for the surgical management of early stage endometrial cancer.All nine studies met the inclusion criteria and assessed 4389 women at the end of the studies. Six studies assessing 3993 participants with early stage endometrial cancer found no significant difference in the risk of death between women who underwent laparoscopy and women who underwent laparotomy (HR 1.04, 95% 0.86 to 1.25; moderate-certainty evidence) and five studies assessing 3710 participants found no significant difference in the risk of recurrence between the laparoscopy and laparotomy groups (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.43; moderate-certainty evidence). There was no significant difference in the rate of perioperative death; women requiring a blood transfusion; and bladder, ureteric, bowel and vascular injury. However, one meta-analysis of three studies found that women in the laparoscopy group lost significantly less blood than women in the laparotomy group (MD -106.82 mL, 95% CI -141.59 to -72.06; low-certainty evidence). A further meta-analysis of two studies, which assessed 3344 women and included one very large trial of over 2500 participants, found that there was no clinical difference in the risk of severe postoperative complications in women in the laparoscopy and laparotomy groups (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.38). Most studies were at moderate risk of bias. All nine studies reported hospital stay and results showed that on average, laparoscopy was associated with a significantly shorter hospital stay.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

This review found low to moderate-certainty evidence to support the role of laparoscopy for the management of early endometrial cancer. For presumed early stage primary endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the endometrium, laparoscopy is associated with similar OS and DFS. Furthermore, laparoscopy is associated with reduced operative morbidity and hospital stay. There is no significant difference in severe postoperative morbidity between the two modalities.The certainty of evidence for OS and RFS was moderate and was downgraded for unclear risk of bias profiles and imprecision in effect estimates. However, most studies used adequate methods of sequence generation and concealment of allocation so studies were not prone to selection bias. Adverse event outcomes were downgraded for the same reasons and additionally for low event rates and low power thus these outcomes provided low-certainty evidence.

Oncologic Safety of Laparoscopy in the Surgical Treatment of Type II Endometrial Cancer

Background

Laparoscopy is considered the method of choice in the operative treatment of type I endometrial carcinoma (EC). However, there is a paucity of data regarding the safety of endoscopy for type II EC because these malignancies have several biological similarities with ovarian cancer.

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, operative outcomes, and oncologic safety of laparoscopic surgery in patients with type II EC.

Methods

A retrospective study with histologically confirmed serous or clear-cell EC without peritoneal carcinomatosis treated by laparoscopy (G1) or laparotomy (G2) was conducted. Procedures included hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy, and pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy.

Results

From 2009 to 2015, 89 patients were included; 53 women underwent laparoscopy and 36 underwent laparotomy. No relevant epidemiological or oncologic difference between groups was observed. The mean number of removed pelvic nodes was 16 [±10] and 12 [±13] in group 1 (G1) and group 2 (G2), respectively (P= 0.127). The mean number of dissected para-aortic nodes was significantly greater in the laparoscopic group (11 [±9] vs 6 [±9],P= 0.006). Para-aortic metastasis was significantly more often observed in the endoscopy group (26% vs 13%,P= 0.04). Adjuvant therapies were given to 86% of the patients in the study and 75% in the control group (P= 0.157). No excessive blood loss, casualty related to surgery, intraoperative complication, or conversion to laparotomy occurred in G1. Ten (18%) women from G1 and 36% (13/36) in G2 developed relevant postoperative complications (P= 0.03). The median duration of follow-up was 38 months for the laparoscopy and 47 months for the open surgery (P= 0.12). The 5-year overall and disease-free survival were similar, 86% versus 78% and 58% versus 51% for G1 and G2, respectively (P= 0.312).

Conclusions

Laparoscopy is oncologically at least not inferior to laparotomy for the surgical treatment of type II EC. Endoscopic techniques are feasible, effective, result in significantly less morbidity, and improved quality staging. Although statistical significance was not reached, laparoscopy was associated with superior oncologic results.

Laparoscopy Versus Laparotomy in the Treatment of High-Risk Endometrial Cancer: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

The aim of this study was to compare the long-term safety and efficacy of laparoscopic surgery and laparotomy for high-risk endometrial cancer (EC).A retrospective analysis based on our decade of clinical data of patients with high-risk EC who were comprehensively surgically staged by laparotomy or laparoscopy was performed. The surgical outcomes were compared between different approaches using propensity score matching (PSM).Eighty-one pairs of patients from the initial 220 enrolled ones were matched by PSM. The mean operative time is similar between laparotomy and laparoscopy groups (258 minutes vs. 253 minutes). The laparoscopy cohort has less blood loss (107 mL vs.414 mL, P < 0.01), shorter hospital stay (14.7 days vs. 17.7 days, P = 0.02) and significant fewer intraoperative complications (6.2% vs. 25.9%, P < 0.01). The pelvic lymph nodes dissected by laparoscopy (16.4) were significant less than that dissected by laparotomy (21.9). The 5- and 10-year survival rate for laparotomy were 89.2% and 75.8% compared with 85.3% and 85.3% for the laparoscopy. There was no significant difference in overall survival (P = 0.97).Laparoscopy is as effective as laparotomy in the long term and can be safely carried out in patients with high-risk EC for surgery treatment.

Surgical management of early endometrial cancer: an update and proposal of a therapeutic algorithm

In the last few years technical improvements have produced a dramatic shift from traditional open surgery towards a minimally invasive approach for the management of early endometrial cancer. Advancement in minimally invasive surgical approaches has allowed extensive staging procedures to be performed with significantly reduced patient morbidity. Debate is ongoing regarding the choice of a minimally invasive approach that has the most effective benefit for the patients, the surgeon, and the healthcare system as a whole.

Surgical treatment of women with presumed early endometrial cancer should take into account the features of endometrial disease and the general surgical risk of the patient. Women with endometrial cancer are often aged, obese, and with cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities that increase the risk of peri-operative complications, so it is important to tailor the extent and the radicalness of surgery in order to decrease morbidity and mortality potentially derivable from unnecessary procedures. In this regard women with negative nodes derive no benefit from unnecessary lymphadenectomy, but may develop short- and long-term morbidity related to this procedure. Preoperative and intraoperative techniques could be critical tools for tailoring the extent and the radicalness of surgery in the management of women with presumed early endometrial cancer. In this review we will discuss updates in surgical management of early endometrial cancer and also the role of preoperative and intraoperative evaluation of lymph node status in influencing surgical options, with the aim of proposing a management algorithm based on the literature and our experience.

Use of Laparoscopy in the Treatment of Endometrial and Cervical Cancer - Results of a 2012 Germany-wide Survey

Introduction: Endoscopy has begun to play an increasingly important role in the surgical therapy of uterine cancers. To date, there is no data on the use of laparoscopy to treat endometrial cancer (EC) and cervical cancer (CC). Method: A Germany-wide, anonymised survey was done of all gynaecological clinics/endoscopy clinics, using a standardised questionnaire. Results: A total of 128 clinics responded: 16 university clinics (12.5 %), 30 hospitals offering maximum care (23.4 %), 66 general hospitals (51.5 %), 5 outpatient clinics (3,9 %), 4 physicians in private practice affiliated to hospitals (3.1 %) and 7 hospitals (5.4 %) which did not indicate status. Laparoscopy was used in the treatment of 82 % of all EC and 54 % of CC. Surgery for EC was done completely laparoscopically in 58 % of cases and with laparoscopic assistance using a vaginal approach in 32 % of cases. If lymphadenectomy (LNE) was additionally performed, this was done abdominally in 42 % of cases and laparoscopically in 53 %. Cervical cancer was treated by laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (HE) in 44 % of cases and by radical HE using a vaginal approach in 14 %. 4 % of hospitals reported the use of other endoscopic methods (e.g. DaVinci). While the majority of hospitals (43.3 %) treated more than 75 % of EC patients using laparoscopy, in many clinics (38.3 %) less than 25 % of CC patients were treated using endoscopy. Discussion: Laparoscopy is used more often in EC surgery as compared to surgery for CC. However, there are still major differences between hospitals with regard to case numbers, the number of uterine cancers treated using endoscopic surgery, and the type of endoscopic surgery.

The accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging for preoperative deep myometrium assessment in endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the accuracy of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect deep myometrial invasion in patients with endometrial cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 66 cases of women with endometrial cancer, who underwent preoperative MRI assessment and surgical staging between January 2006 and October 2010. The MRI findings were then compared with the pathology results. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of MRI in detecting deep myometrium invasion were evaluated.

RESULTS

The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV results of MRI for the detection of deep myometrium invasion were 92.52%, 74.35%, 81.81%,71.42%, and 93.54%, respectively, with a kappa of 0.64. In the postmenopausal group, the values were 100%, 55.5%, 74.19%, 61.9%, and 100%. In the premenopausal women, they improved to 85.7%, 90.47%, 88.57%, 88.71%, and 90.47%. The sensitivity (100%) was better than the specificity (55.56%) in the postmenopausal women. The predictive value was markedly higher in the premenopausal women than the postmenopausal women (85.7% vs. 61.9%).

CONCLUSION

In patients with endometrial cancer, a preoperative MRI contributes to accurate staging, allowing planning for the scale of surgery and preoperative counseling. In our study, the pretreatment identification of myometrium invasion provided the opportunity for small-scale surgery in the premenopausal women with early endometrial cancer. However, for the postmenopausal patients, the standard surgical procedure is indicated even if the degree of myometrium invasion is low.

Laparoscopy versus laparotomy for the management of early stage endometrial cancer

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, surgery for endometrial cancer (hysterectomy with removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries) is performed through laparotomy. It has been suggested that the laparoscopic approach is associated with a reduction in operative morbidity. Over the last 10 to 15 years there has been a steady increase of laparoscopy for endometrial cancer. This review investigates the evidence of benefits and harms of laparoscopic surgery compared with laparotomy for presumed early stage endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) for laparoscopic surgery versus laparotomy in women with presumed early stage endometrial cancer.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Gynaecological Cancer Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) Issue 3, 2012, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL up to April 2012. We also searched registers of clinical trials, abstracts of scientific meetings, and reference lists of included studies. Trial registers we searched included NHMRC Clinical Trials Register, UKCCCR Register of Cancer Trials, Meta-Register and Physician Data Query Protocol, as well as abstracts of scientific meetings.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing laparoscopy and laparotomy for early stage endometrial cancer.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We independently abstracted data and assessed risk of bias. Hazard ratios (HRs) were used for OS and recurrence-free survival (RFS), risk ratios (RR) for severe adverse events and the mean difference (MD) method was used for continuous outcomes in women who received laparoscopy or laparotomy and these were then pooled in random-effects meta-analyses.

MAIN RESULTS

Eight RCTs comparing laparoscopy with laparotomy for the surgical management of early stage endometrial cancer were identified.All eight trials met the inclusion criteria, 3644 women were assessed at the end of the trials. Three trials assessing 359 participants with early stage endometrial cancer, found no statistically significant difference in the risk of death and disease or recurrence between women who underwent laparoscopy and those who underwent laparotomy (HR = 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62 to 2.10) and HR = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.90 to 1.42 for OS and RFS respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of peri-operative death, women requiring a blood transfusion, and bladder, ureteric, bowel and vascular injury. However, a meta-analysis of two trials found that women in the laparoscopy group lost significantly less blood than those in the laparotomy group (MD = -106.82 mL, 95% CI: -141.59 to -72.06). A further meta-analysis of two trials, which assessed 2923 women and included one very large trial of over 2500 participants, found that the rate of severe post-operative adverse events was significantly lower in the laparoscopy group compared with the laparotomy group (RR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.91). The large trial did not give a breakdown of these severe post-operative adverse events into different adverse event categories. Most trials were at moderate risk of bias. Hospital stay was reported in all of the trials and results show that on average, laparoscopy was associated with a significantly shorter hospital stay.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

This review has found evidence to support the role of laparoscopy for the management of early endometrial cancer.For presumed early stage primary endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the endometrium, laparoscopy is associated with similar overall and disease-free survival. Laparoscopy is associated with reduced operative morbidity and hospital stay. There is no significant difference in severe post-operative morbidity between the two modalities.

Independent prognostic factors in endometrial cancer: a single institution review

The purpose of this study was to conduct a clinical and pathologic review of endometrial cancers diagnosed and surgically treated in our institution to evaluate results of treatment in relation to current international recommendations. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical history, treatment and follow-up of patients with histologically confirmed endometrial cancer treated in Faculty Hospital Nitra, Slovakia from 1990 to 2005. Data were abstracted regarding tumor histology, grade, age, parity, stage, diabetes, use of oral contraceptives, BMI, survival and treatment modalities including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and combinations thereof. One hundred and thirty nine patients received surgical treatment for endometrial cancer: stage I -101 (72,6%), stage II - 9 (6,5%), stage III - 23 (16,6%) and stage IV - 6 (4,3%). Tumors were well differentiated in 87(62,6%), moderately differentiated in 32 (23%) and poorly differentiated in 20 (14,4%). There were 45 (32,4%) premenopausal patients and 94 (67,6%) postmenopausal. In multivariate statistical analysis we identified FIGO stage, tumor type, tumor grade, nodal status and depth of myometrial invasion as independent prognostic factors for overall survival, and FIGO stage, nodal status, and tumor grade as independent prognostic factors for recurrence-free interval.

Asian society of gynecologic oncology workshop 2010

This workshop was held on July 31-August 1, 2010 and was organized to promote the academic environment and to enhance the communication among Asian countries prior to the 2nd biennial meeting of Australian Society of Gynaecologic Oncologists (ASGO), which will be held on November 3-5, 2011. We summarized the whole contents presented at the workshop. Regarding cervical cancer screening in Asia, particularly in low resource settings, and an update on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination was described for prevention and radical surgery overview, fertility sparing and less radical surgery, nerve sparing radical surgery and primary chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer, were discussed for management. As to surgical techniques, nerve sparing radical hysterectomy, optimal staging in early ovarian cancer, laparoscopic radical hysterectomy, one-port surgery and robotic surgery were introduced. After three topics of endometrial cancer, laparoscopic surgery versus open surgery, role of lymphadenectomy and fertility sparing treatment, there was a special additional time for clinical trials in Asia. Finally, chemotherapy including neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, optimal surgical management, and the basis of targeted therapy in ovarian cancer were presented.

Comparison of laparoscopic versus conventional open surgical staging procedure for endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to compare the surgical outcomes of laparoscopic surgery and conventional laparotomy for endometrial cancer.

METHODS

A total of 104 consecutive patients were non-randomly assigned to either laparoscopic surgery or laparotomy. All patients underwent comprehensive surgical staging procedures including total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic/para-aortic lymphadenectomy. The safety, morbidity, and survival rates of the two groups were compared, and the data was retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

Thirty-four patients received laparoscopic surgery and 70 underwent laparotomy. Operation time for the laparoscopic procedure was 227.0+/-28.8 minutes, which showed significant difference from the 208.1+/-46.4 minutes (p=0.032) of the laparotomy group. The estimated blood loss of patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery was 230.3+/-92.4 mL. This was significantly less than that of the laparotomy group (301.9+/-156.3 mL, p=0.015). The laparoscopic group had an average of 20.8 pelvic and 9.1 para-aortic nodes retrieved, as compared to 17.2 pelvic and 8.5 para-aortic nodes retrieved in the laparotomy group. There was no significant difference (p=0.062, p=0.554). The mean hospitalization duration was significantly greater in the laparotomy group than the laparoscopic group (23.3 and 16.4 days, p<0.001). The incidence of postoperative complications was 15.7% and 11.8% in the laparotomy and laparoscopic groups respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in the survival rate.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic surgical staging operation is a safe and effective therapeutic procedure for management of endometrial cancer with an acceptable morbidity compared to the laparotomic approach, and is characterized by far less blood loss and shorter postoperative hospitalization.