Adenocarcinoma of the endometrium after endometrial ablation

Endometrial ablation is a relatively new technique for treating abnormal uterine bleeding not associated with malignancy. Long-term outcome data after endometrial ablation are limited, and incidence of endometrial adenocarcinoma after ablation is unknown.

A 55-year-old black woman who had endometrial ablation for abnormal uterine bleeding after excluding uterine cancer presented 5 years later with similar symptoms and a histologic diagnosis of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the uterus. She refused surgery and had radiation treatment for probable stage I endometrial adenocarcinoma.

It is unlikely in this high-risk patient that the endometrial ablation masked an undetected malignancy or delayed the diagnosis. Given the interval, the adenocarcinoma might have occurred de novo.