Obesity in Patients with Endometrial Cancer: May It Affect the Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic Approach?

To evaluate the impact of obesity on surgical outcomes for women with endometrial cancer (EC) managed by laparoscopic surgery. Minimal invasive surgery has been incorporated in the surgical management of EC, improving perioperative outcomes. However, this approach may become more challenging in case of obesity. So it is important to accurately evaluate and establish the most appropriate surgical approach for these patients.

From January 2008 through April 2016, we conducted a prospective observational study, including all consecutive patients with a histological diagnosis of EC undergoing surgical staging by laparoscopy at our institution. Patients were classified in two groups (obese vs non-obese) according to their body mass index. Information about short- and long-term outcomes were recorded and analyzed during an outpatient follow-up.

Between January 2008 and April 2016, 83 women underwent laparoscopic surgery for EC at our institution. Forty-six (56.6%) of them were classified as obese. Surgical outcomes were similar in both groups. No significant difference was reported in surgical time, number of lymph nodes removed, blood loss, length of hospital stay, and incidence of intra- or postoperative complications. Also, long-term outcomes did not show any statistical significant difference: recurrence rate was 6.4% (3/47) among obese patients and 13.9% (5/36) among non-obese (p = 0.251). No difference was reported even in time to recurrence (log-rank p = 0.280) and in survival time (log-tank p = 0.132) between the two groups.

Our results show that obesity did not impair the outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for EC. This surgical approach may be offered to obese patients with the same level of safety, radicality, and efficiency as for the normal-weight population.