Vaginal vault brachytherapy as sole postoperative treatment for low-risk endometrial cancer

To evaluate the efficacy and side effect profile of adjuvant vaginal vault brachytherapy alone after hysterectomy in Stage I endometrial carcinoma.

Between 23/11/1992 and 16/05/2005, a total of 173 patients with early endometrial carcinoma treated with vaginal vault brachytherapy alone postoperatively were identified. Patients were treated using a single-line source vaginal stump applicator (Varian Medical Systems) to deliver a dose of 5.5 Gy per fraction at a depth of 5mm from the applicator surface. A total of four fractions were delivered treating twice a week giving an overall treatment time of 10 days to deliver the total dose of 22 Gy in four fractions.

There were 19 deaths in this series, 6 (3.5%) from disseminated endometrial cancer and 13 (7.5%) from unrelated causes. High-risk features of Stage 1C, Grade G3, or clear cell histology were present in all 6 patients who developed metastatic disease. One patient developed a local recurrence alone, which was salvaged with external beam pelvic radiotherapy. The low-risk group defined by Stage 1B and G1 or G2 did not develop distant relapse in this series. Late morbidity was rare except for vaginal stenosis seen in 13%.

This series confirms that vaginal vault brachytherapy is associated with a high rate of pelvic control and survival after simple hysterectomy for low- and intermediate-risk endometrial cancer with minimal toxicity.