Endometrial carcinoma: paraaortic dissemination

Abstract

Objective: The objective of our study was to identify pathologic factors predictive of tumor dissemination to paraaortic lymph nodes (LNs) in endometrial carcinoma. The identification of the risk factors may potentially facilitate selection of patients for radical surgery or radiotherapy directed to the paraaortic area (PAA).

Methods: The study population was a cohort from 612 consecutive patients with endometrial cancer surgically managed at our institution over a 10-year period. Tumor dissemination to the PAA was identified by selecting those patients who had either paraaortic LNs positive for disease at the time of primary surgery or those who subsequently experienced paraaortic failure or both (n=41; the "PA mets" subgroup). Therefore, patients for whom no information was available about the status of paraaortic LNs but who had received adjuvant irradiation to the PAA and those for whom information was not available about sites of recurrent disease were excluded from the analysis, leaving 566 patients to compose the study population.

Results: On the basis of univariate analysis, numerous pathologic variables were significantly (P< or =0.01) associated with PA mets. However, logistic regression analysis identified only two independent factors predictive of PA mets: positive pelvic LNs (P<0.001, OR=5.00) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (P=0.01, OR=1.99). Notably, only 2% of patients with negative pelvic LNs had PA mets compared with 47% of those with positive pelvic LNs (P<0.001). When both pelvic LNs and LVI were negative, only 0.8% of the patients had PA mets compared with 31% of patients for whom at least one of the two variables was positive (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Positive pelvic LNs and LVI identify a subgroup of high-risk patients (approximately one sixth of the overall population) who potentially may benefit from formal lymphadenectomy or adjuvant therapy or both directed to the PAA. Furthermore, with 47% of patients with positive pelvic LNs having PA mets, unstaged patients at risk for pelvic LN involvement should be considered candidates for both pelvic and paraaortic external beam radiotherapy or surgical restaging.