Recurrence-free and 5-year survival following robotic-assisted surgical staging for endometrial carcinoma

The aim of this study is to report recurrence-free and overall survival for women with endometrial adenocarcinoma who were surgically staged using robotic-assisted laparoscopy.

A retrospective chart review was performed for all consecutive endometrial adenocarcinoma patients surgically staged with robotic-assisted laparoscopy at the University of North Carolina Hospital from 2005 to 2010. Demographic data, 5-year survival, and recurrence-free intervals were analyzed. Statistical analysis using Chi-square, t-test, and Kaplan-Meier curves were performed with SAS software. Study results were compared to endometrial cancer statistics from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database from the National Cancer Institute.

A total of 499 patients were identified and included in the study. Recurrence-free intervals after robotic-assisted surgical staging were 85.2% for stage IA, 80.2% for stage IB, 69.8% for stage II, and 69% for stage III. Projected 5-year survival was 88.7% for all patients included in the study. Nearly 82% of cases were endometrioid adenocarcinoma, with papillary serous, clear cell or mixed histology comprising 17.4% of cases. Median follow up time was 23 months, with a range of 0 to 80 months. Among stage IA, IB, II, and III patients, projected overall survival was 94.2%, 85.9%, 77.4%, and 68.6%, respectively.

The results from this study demonstrate that robotic-assisted surgical staging for endometrial cancer does not adversely affect rates of recurrence or survival. These findings provide further evidence that robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgical staging is not associated with inferior results when compared to laparotomy or traditional laparoscopy.