The National Cancer Data Base report on endometrial cancer

Previous Commission on Cancer data from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) have examined time trends in stage of disease, treatment patterns, and survival for selected cancers. The most current (1992) data for endometrial cancer are described here.

Four calls for data have yielded a total of 560,455 cancer cases diagnosed in 1986-1987, and 599,597 cancer cases diagnosed in 1992, from hospital cancer registries across the United States.

Data were received for 36,341 endometrial cancer patients. No significant change in stage distribution for patients who were staged was noted with time, however, markedly fewer patients were reported with unknown stage in 1992 (15.6%) compared with 1986-1987 (45.1%). Blacks and low income groups were more likely to present with advanced stage disease. A 12.6% increase in patients undergoing nodal dissection as part of their surgical treatment occurred during this time period. More patients received surgery only as part of their treatment in 1992 (53.8%) vs. 42.6%). Advancing age, minority status, low income, and increasing grade all had a negative impact on survival. Blacks experienced a 25% reduction in survival compared to non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics.

Lack of improvement in detecting early disease indicates the lack of acceptable screening methodology for this disease. Blacks present with more advanced disease and subsequently have a decreased survival compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Time trends indicate that nodal dissection is becoming a more common surgical practice in this disease, and that radiation therapy is utilized less often. The current American Joint Committee on Cancer staging accurately reflects differences in prognosis by stage.