Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic surgical treatment of early stage endometrial cancer.
Methods: From January 1998 to August 2003, 24 endometrial cancer cases treated by laparoscopy were analyzed as the study group. And 41 endometrial cancer cases treated by laparotomy during the same period were randomly selected as the control group. The two groups were compared in terms of the clinic data of perioperative periods.
Results: The clinicopathological characteristics before operation between both groups were similar. The mean operating time in the laparoscopy group (97 minutes) was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) than that in the laparotomy group (134 minutes). The blood loss during the operation in the laparoscopy group (163 ml) was fewer than that in the laparotomy group (259 ml). The numbers of the lymph nodes resected between the two groups were similar. The rate of complications in the laparoscopy group was lower than that in the laparotomy group. The laparoscopy group had shorter hospitalization (6.3 days) than that of the laparotomy group (9.6 days, P < 0.01). The pathological type and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage between the two groups were similar. One case had recurrence and 1 case died in the control group but there was no such case in the laparoscopy group. The survival rate of the study group was 100% and that of the control group was 97% (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery is feasible and safe in treatment of early stage endometrial cancer, and the clinic value should be confirmed by multicenter randomized clinic trial.