Laparoscopy Versus Laparotomy in the Treatment of High-Risk Endometrial Cancer: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

The aim of this study was to compare the long-term safety and efficacy of laparoscopic surgery and laparotomy for high-risk endometrial cancer (EC). A retrospective analysis based on our decade of clinical data of patients with high-risk EC who were comprehensively surgically staged by laparotomy or laparoscopy was performed. The surgical outcomes were compared between different approaches using propensity score matching (PSM). Eighty-one pairs of patients from the initial 220 enrolled ones were matched by PSM. The mean operative time is similar between laparotomy and laparoscopy groups (258 minutes vs. 253 minutes). The laparoscopy cohort has less blood loss (107 mL vs.414 mL, P < 0.01), shorter hospital stay (14.7 days vs. 17.7 days, P = 0.02) and significant fewer intraoperative complications (6.2% vs. 25.9%, P < 0.01). The pelvic lymph nodes dissected by laparoscopy (16.4) were significant less than that dissected by laparotomy (21.9). The 5- and 10-year survival rate for laparotomy were 89.2% and 75.8% compared with 85.3% and 85.3% for the laparoscopy. There was no significant difference in overall survival (P = 0.97). Laparoscopy is as effective as laparotomy in the long term and can be safely carried out in patients with high-risk EC for surgery treatment.