Prognostic factors in endometrial cancer

The 5 year survival rates of 228 patients with endometrial cancer treated in the period 1978-1982 according to the prognostic factors (stage, grade, depth of myometrial invasion, lymph node metastasis) is presented. All patients were treated with primary surgery consisting of classical Wertheim operation with lymphadenectomy (98 cases-43%), total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with lymphadenectomy (52 cases-48%) and without lymphadenectomy (55 cases-52%) and vaginal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (23 cases-10%). All patients except 6.6% were postoperatively irradiated. The 5 year survival for all stages was 74.6%. In SI cases it was 83.8%, in SII 57.9% and only 37.5% in SIII group. The survival was 90.1% in patients with superficial myometrial invasion and 56.4% in cases of deeper invasion. The survival of patients with node metastasis (8.6%) was only 39.5%, irrespective of the type of surgery and postoperative external irradiation. Vaginal recurrences were observed in 3.9%, and all the patients died. To improve the results it is necessary to individualize the treatment according to the pathologic and clinical prognostic factors.