Comparison of laparoscopic surgery and conventional laparotomy for surgical staging of patients with presumed low-risk endometrial cancer: The current state of Japan.

OBJECTIVE: National health insurance coverage for the laparoscopic staging surgery for patients with stage IA endometrial cancer started from April 2014 in Japan. We conducted this retrospective study to evaluate the surgical outcomes of the laparoscopic surgery for patients with low-risk endometrial cancer compared with those of the laparotomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 120 patients with presumed low-risk endometrial cancer, who were treated at Tottori University Hospital between 2005 and 2016, were eligible for this study. The laparoscopic staging surgery included only the pelvic lymphadenectomy and not the para-aortic lymphadenectomy. We evaluated the discrepancy between preoperative presumption and postoperative diagnosis of recurrent risk factors.

RESULTS: Forty patients underwent the laparoscopic surgery and 80 patients received the laparotomy. The laparoscopic surgery resulted in less intraoperative blood loss and shorter hospital stay. The operative time was significantly longer for the laparoscopic surgery compared with the laparotomy, but this difference was not seen in obese patients with a body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 . The type of the surgical procedure did not affect the incidence of perioperative complications. Among 120 patients, 104 (86.6%) were diagnosed as FIGO stage IA, 118 (98.3%) with endometrioid adenocarcinoma grade 1 or 2, and 107 (89.1%) with myometrial invasion depth <50%.

CONCLUSION: The laparoscopic staging surgery is a feasible and safe alternative to the laparotomy for patients with presumed low-risk endometrial cancer, especially for obese patients. To perform the laparoscopic surgery for patients with stage IA endometrial cancer under the current national health insurance system, it is important to limit the candidates to low-risk disease based on a precise diagnosis before the surgery.