Screening for endometrial carcinoma using a negative pressure intra-uterine "jet wash"

Endometrial jet washings, which permit lavage of the uterine cavity by sterile isotonic saline under negative pressure, were performed as a screening technique in one hundred and one selected patients attending a gynaecological clinic. The material collected was assessed by both cytological and histological methods. A formal curettage was subsequently performed on all patients and the results of the two methods compared. Fifteen per cent of patients were diagnosed as having an endometrial carcinoma by jet washing and these results were confirmed by the histological reports from curettage. There were no false positive nor false negative results. It is suggested that endometrial jet washing is a simple and convenient method of screening women for endometrial carcinoma and gives diagnostic results comparable to those obtained by a conventional curettage.