Implementation of laparoscopic surgery for endometrial cancer: work in progress

AIM OF THE STUDY: Even in oncology, minimal invasive surgery is introduced. We describe the introduction of this new surgical technique in a teaching hospital. The objective was to compare factors that have influenced the choice between laparoscopic versus open surgery in patients with endometrial cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed all patients with endometrial cancer between 2010 and 2014. The different factors we compared were age, weight, histopathology, uterine size, serum CA-125 level and FIGO stage. RESULTS: The choice for laparoscopic surgery gradually increased in the years after introduction. An analysis from data’s from 2010-2014 showed that all discriminative factors did not significantly influence the choice between laparoscopic versus open surgery, besides endometrial histopathology (tumour grade and tumour histology). CONCLUSION: Both laparoscopy and open surgery are safe approaches in treating endometrial cancer. The surgical procedure itself did not have impact on survival. In all patients with endometrial cancer, even in obese patients, we recommend laparoscopy to reduce postoperative complications.