Endometrial thickness is a prognostic factor in endometrial carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Ultrasonography is a method that is commonly used today to measure endometrial thickness. It is useful as the initial step to detect endometrial hyperplasia or cancer in women with abnormal uterine bleeding. This study seeks to explore the predictive role of endometrial thickness in the development of endometrial cancer and identify the variables that affect endometrial thickness. Methods: This study is a cross sectional retrospective analytical study of women with a history of endometrial cancer who underwent transabdominal ultrasonography or transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) followed by complete surgical staging between January 2019 and December 2021 at Dr. Kariadi General Hospital Semarang. Patients were categorized by endometrial thickness into ≤8 mm and >8 mm. In order to compare the endometrial thickness and clinicopathology traits, a bivariate analysis was done. The study proceeded with multivariate analysis and logistic regression if more than one bivariate analysis revealed a significant correlation (p<0.25). Results: This study involved 55 participants who had endometrial thickness measurements taken. Endometrial thickness was used to divide the patient population into two groups: ≤8 mm (n=28) and >8 mm (n=27). Tumor differentiation grading showed a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.001). The thickness of the endometrium is a significant prognostic of endometrial carcinoma based on the degree of tumor differentiation (p<0.001). With each millimeter increase in the endometrium, the likelihood of endometrial carcinoma increases significantly by 1,25 [p<0.001; 95%CI =1.112-1.404] times. Conclusion: As a result, the degree of tumor differentiation on post-operative histological analysis is correlated with the thickness of the endometrium. The endometrium's thickness considerably increased as the tumor differentiation level deteriorated. These findings highlight the significance of endometrial thickness as a possible predictor of tumor differentiation and prognosis in endometrial cancer.