Occult Uterine Malignancy at the Time of Surgery for Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of occult uterine malignancy of any subtype specifically at the time of hysterectomy for pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

We primarily used MEDLINE to access existing literature. The search terms used were "occult malignancy" or "occult uterine pathology" paired with "morcellation" or "hysterectomy." Our cutoff date for articles was March 25, 2019. We further narrowed articles down based on whether they included data on occult malignancy at time of hysterectomy specifically for POP.

Our search yielded a total of 233 journal articles, of which 53 met the criteria for a full-text review. Eight studies provided specific data on occult uterine malignancy among women undergoing surgery for POP and formed the basis for this meta-analysis. Among the 8 studies examined, the total number of patients combined was 35,880, and there were 144 total occult uterine malignancies. There were 7 case series and 1 population-based study included. The pooled prevalence of occult uterine malignancy at the time of hysterectomy for POP was 0.22% (95% confidence interval, 0.11%-0.35%]. There was very little heterogeneity observed across the 8 studies (I2 = 12.06%, Q χ2[7] = 7.96, P = 0.336).

The pooled prevalence of occult uterine malignancy, of any subtype, at the time of surgery for POP specifically is 0.22% based on meta-analysis of existing studies. Surgeons can use this statistic as part of the preoperative counseling of patients with POP before hysterectomy.