The significance of residual tumor after preoperative pelvic irradiation for stage II endometrial carcinoma.

The prognostic significance of residual endometrial carcinoma in the hysterectomy specimen after preoperative radiotherapy is controversial. Sixty-two patients with stage II endometrial carcinoma were treated with a standardized program of preoperative radiotherapy, followed in six weeks by an extrafascial hysterectomy. Twenty patients (32%) had no residual carcinoma in their hysterectomy specimens and 42 (68%) had residual carcinoma. There were no significant clinical, surgical, or pathologic differences between patients with or without residual carcinoma. Patients with no residual carcinoma had a 25% recurrence rate and a 53% actuarial five-year survival rate. Patients with residual carcinoma had a 21% recurrence rate and a 78% actuarial five-year survival rate. The presence of residual endometrial carcinoma in the hysterectomy specimen does not imply a compromised prognosis in patients with stage II endometrial carcinoma treated by the described method.