Endometrial cancer--revisiting the importance of pelvic and para aortic lymph nodes

In 1998, FIGO (International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians) required a change from clinical to surgical staging in early endometrial cancer. This staging requirement raised numerous controversies around the importance of determining nodal status and its impact on outcomes. A diversity of opinions exists as to the actual benefits and toxicities associated with surgical staging which includes lymph node sampling, ranging from those whose opinion is that staging is required for all patients even when the a priori risk of nodal involvement is extremely low through to those who consider that staging is unnecessary in any patient. While knowledge of the presence or absence of extra uterine sites of disease may change treatment approaches and direct different treatment interventions in some patients, the impact of those changes on survival is much less clear. This paper examines recommendations for surgical staging in various subgroups of patients with clinically early endometrial cancer and the impact on survival and toxicity of the various approaches and the subsequent use of adjuvant irradiation and/or chemotherapy.