Laparoscopic surgery for early-stage endometrial cancer: Perioperative outcomes and long-term prognosis

Objective: The aim of this study was to report the feasibility and long-term prognosis of laparoscopic surgery for early-stage endometrial cancer compared to laparotomy. Methods: Sixty-six patients with clinical stage I endometrial cancer were surgically treated between July 2004 and June 2014. Thirty-six patients were treated with laparoscopy (laparoscopy group [LS]), and 29 were treated with laparotomy (laparotomy group [LT]). The surgical procedures were hysterectomy, salpingo-oophorectomy, and para-aortic-pelvic lymphadenectomy. We compared perioperative morbidities, recurrence rates, progression-free survival, and overall survival for both groups. Results: One patient was converted from laparoscopy to laparotomy due to metastatic cancer. The mean operative time was longer and hospitalization after surgery was shorter in the LS group. In the LS group, intra-operative and postoperative complication rates were not higher than in the LT group. There were no differences between the groups in terms of recurrence rates, progression-free survival (94.4% LS; 82.1% LT), and overall survival (97.2% LS; 90.0% LT). Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery for early-stage endometrial cancer was performed safely and was not inferior to laparotomy in terms of long-term prognosis.