Does Preoperative Diagnosis of Endometrial Hyperplasia Necessitate Intraoperative Frozen Section Consultation?

Abstract

Background: In women with endometrial hyperplasia, there is a risk for co-existent endometrial cancer when patients are subjected to immediate surgical treatment.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of endometrial cancer and the accuracy of frozen section analysis at the time of hysterectomy among patients with endometrial hyperplasia, to reveal whether or not a preoperative diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia necessitates frozen section consultation.

Study design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Methods: A department database review was performed to identify patients who were subjected to hysterectomy with a preoperative diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia, during the period from 2007 to 2014.

Results: The study group included 189 cases. The final pathological examination revealed endometrial cancer in 16 women (8.4%). The risk of cancer in patients with endometrial hyperplasia was 1 of 125 (0.8%) in simple hyperplasia without atypia, 1 of 21 (4.8%) in complex hyperplasia without atypia and 14 of 43 (32.5%) in atypical hyperplasia. Of women with cancer, 2 of 16 (12.5%) had high-risk features. Frozen section analysis was requested in 46 cases. Frozen sections helped to identify six out of 11 cases of endometrial cancer (54.5%). The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of frozen section analysis for the detection of endometrial cancer among women with endometrial hyperplasia were 54.4%, 97.2%, 85.7% and 87.5%, respectively.

Conclusion: Although a significant proportion of patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia are diagnosed with endometrial cancer following hysterectomy, most of these cases have low-risk features and do not require surgical staging. Additionally, intraoperative frozen section analysis if not helpful for diagnosing concurrent endometrial cancer in patients with endometrial hyperplasia. Therefore, it seems that patients with endometrial hyperplasia can be operated upon in settings with no available method for obtaining frozen sections intraoperatively.

Keywords: Endometrial hyperplasia; endometrial cancer; frozen sections.