Surgical and systemic management of endometrial cancer: an international survey

PURPOSE: To ascertain the spectrum of clinical management of endometrial carcinoma (EC) the largest international survey was conducted to evaluate and identify differences worldwide.

METHODS: After validation of a 15-item questionnaire regarding surgical and adjuvant treatment of EC in Germany, an English-adapted questionnaire was put online and posted to all the major gynecological cancer Societies worldwide for further distribution commencing in 2010 and continued for 26 months.

RESULTS: A total of 618 Institutions around the world participated: Central Europe (CE), Southern Europe (SE), Northern Europe (NE), Asia and USA/Canada/UK. Both a therapeutic and staging value was attributed to systematic pelvic and paraaortic lymph node dissection (LND) in CE (74.6 %) and in Asia (67.2 %), as opposed to USA/UK where LND was mainly for staging purposes (53.5 %; p < 0.001). LND was performed up to the renal veins in CE in 86.8 %, in Asia in 80.8 %, in USA/UK in 51.2 % and in SE in 45.1 % (p < 0.001) of cases. In advanced disease, centers from Asia were treated most with adjuvant chemotherapy alone (93.6 %), as opposed to centers in SE, CE and UK/USA that employed combination chemo-radiotherapy in 90.9 % (p < 0.001) of cases. Paclitaxel/carboplatin was mostly used followed by doxorubicin/cisplatin (75 vs. 23.3 %; p < 0.001). In total, 94 % of all participants supported the concept of treating EC patients within appropriate clinical trials.

CONCLUSIONS: There is broad range in both the surgical and adjuvant treatment of EC across different countries. Large-scale multicenter prospective trials are warranted to establish consistent, evidence-based guidelines to optimize treatment worldwide.