Endometrial adenocarcinoma: a primer for the generalist

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in the United States. The mean and median age of women with endometrial adenocarcinoma is 61 years. Most endometrial cancers are type I estrogen-dependent endometrioid adenocarcinomas. Most women with endometrial adenocarcinoma have stage I disease. Patients with stage I disease endometrial adenocarcinoma can be treated with a simple hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, peritoneal lavage, and periaortic node dissection in selected cases. The probability of survival according to international statistics is as follows: stage IA, 91%; stage IB, 88%; stage IC, 81%; stage IIA, 77%; stage IIB, 67%; stage IIA, 60%; stage IIIB, 41%; stage IIC, 32%; stage IVA, 20%; stage IVB, 5%.