The effects of menopausal uterine fibroids on the prognosis of endometrium cancer

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate any potential associations between uterine leiomyomas and endometrial cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 153 female patients who have been operated because of endometrial carcinoma in our hospital between 2012 and 2017. Data were collected from hospital records. Study participants were divided into two groups according to the presence and absence of leiomyomas. These two groups were compared in terms of histopathological adenocarcinoma type, nuclear and histological grades, disease stage, para-aortic lymph node involvement, and myometrial invasion. For data analysis, Statistical Package for Social Sciences 15.0 software package was used. Comparison between the two groups was made using the chi-square test, and each variable was tested with the Student’s t-test for statistical significance. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were found between the groups with respect to age, tumor type, myometrial invasion, nuclear grade, or histological grade (p>0.05 for all). A significant difference was found between leiomyomas presence and lymph node metastases. The lymph node metastases were more common in patients without uterine leiomyomas (20.55%) than in those with them (5%; p=0.004). Analysis using the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology stages for the presence of leiomyomas indicated that the mean stages were 1A and 1B in patients with and without uterine leiomyomas, respectively (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Uterine leiomyomas did not adversely affect the prognosis of patients with endometrial carcinoma. Moreover, lymph node involvement was less common, and stages were lower in patients with leiomyomas.