Cytologic evaluation of the endometrium in women with postmenopausal bleeding

The records of 143 patients who had postmenopausal bleeding and underwent diagnostic curettage were reviewed. Of these patients 69% had benign endometrial tissue and in 8% there was insufficient tissue for histologic interpretation; 23% of the patients had endometrial carcinoma. In order to ascertain if endometrial cytology could predict which patients which patients may be harboring endometrial carcinoma, a prospective study was carried out on 69 patients complaining of postmenopausal bleeding. Prior to curettage, an endometrial cell sample was obtained with a disposable endometrial cell sampler. The preliminary data indicate good correlation between endometrial cytology and histology. There was one false-negative cytology report and one false positive report. Such a technique could eliminate an endometrial curettage in those patients in whom there is no clinical suspicion of endometrial carcinoma and the cytology is negative.