Study of the risk factors for ovarian metastasis in patients with endometrial carcinoma

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To investigate the risk factors for ovarian metastasis and the possibility of ovarian preservation in patients with endometrial carcinoma. The clinicopathological features of endometrial carcinoma patients who were diagnosed and treated initially with a surgical staging procedure from Jan 1997 to Dec 2006 in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Of the 638 cases reviewed, 36 (5.6%, 36/638) had ovarian metastasis. Univariate analysis revealed that histological type and grade, myometrial invasion, positive peritoneal fluid cytology, pelvic lymph node metastasis, invasion of parauterine, para-aortic node metastasis and invasion of uterine serosa were significantly associated with ovarian metastasis (P < 0.05); while age, lymph-vascular invasion and cervical invasion were not significantly associated with ovarian metastasis (P > 0.05). Factors predictive of ovarian metastasis by multivariate analysis were ranked as follows according to risk intensity: pelvic lymph node metastasis, positive peritoneal cytology, and histological grade. In young patients with grade 1 endometrioid carcinoma, with no pelvic lymph node metastasis, no para-aortic lymph node metastasis, no myometrial invasion and with negative peritoneal fluid cytology, ovarian preservation could be considered.