Lymphadenectomy in Apparent Early-Stage Endometrial Carcinoma: Do Numbers Count?

Endometrial carcinoma is the most common gyneco-logic malignancy in Western countries, with an overall an-nual incidence in the United States of 25 per 100,000, increasing to more than 85 per 100,000 in women 60 years or older. Because the majority of patients present with early-stage disease, the prognosis of endometrial carcinoma patients is generally good, with 5-year overall and cancer-specific survival rates of 80 % to 85 % and 90 % to 95%.1-4 Endometrial carcinoma is primarily a cancer of postmeno-pausalwomen,with concurrentmorbidities such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Given the favorable outcome for the majority of cases, the challenge is to effectively select those patients at increased risk of relapse who might benefit from more extensive surgical procedures and adjuvant therapies, and to avoid overtreatment of