Risk Factors for Node Affectation and Recurrence in Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in western countries. In United States, 42000 estimated new cases were diagnosed in 2009, approximately 7780 women died from this cancer last year. This malignancy has a five year survival rate around 80%, thanks to its early diagnosis. The surgical management of endometrial cancer includes hysterectomy as main surgical procedure. The role of lymphadenectomy, pelvic and para aortic is still controversial. The authors discuss in this article the risk factors for lymph node metastases and recurrence for endometrial cancer by reviewing the international literature. Conclusions: Lymphadenectomy is a crucial surgical procedure for an adequate staging of endometrial cancer. It is necessary a to evaluate the prognostic factors of this disease in order to properly select the most adequate adjuvant therapy. Since last trials on lymphadenectomy in endometrial cancer have not been convincing, further studies are warranted.