Intraoperative cytology during laparoscopic surgery of uterine carcinoma

Introduction: The laparoscopic treatment of uterine cancer is an oncologically safe treatment option in early stage carcinoma. However, there still is no information whether surgery can lead to an intraperitoneal tumor cell dissemination. The aim of our study was to investigate the peritoneal cytology at the beginning and at the end of laparoscopic operations.

Method of application: A prospective study of intraperitoneal cytology at the beginning and at the end of laparoscopic surgery of patients suffering from cervical and endometrial cancer with stage I and II grade cancer.

Results: A first evaluation of the data of 40 patients (25 endometrial cancer and 16 cervical cancer) is available. At the beginning of the operation only four patients showed a positive cytology. None of the patients had a tumor cell dissemination during surgery. All patients were free of recurrence at the time of data analysis.

Conclusion: During laparoscopic surgery of earlier stages of cervical Cancer and endometrial cancer no conversion of cytology can be detected, which proves that laparoscopic surgery is a safe option of oncologic therapy.