Reappraisal of endocervical curettage in predicting cervical involvement by endometrial carcinoma.

Determining if there is cervical invasion by endometrial carcinoma is critical to both staging and therapy. The dependability of endocervical curettage (ECC) in the staging of endometrial cancer is seldom subject to review. This study appraised this dependability. The results indicated that the dependability of ECC in assessing cervical invasion by endometrial cancer is in serious question. Making the determination solely on the basis of ECC would result in the overtreatment of six of seven patients with positive ECC. In view of this high false-positive rate, direct visual inspection and biopsy of the endocervical canal with endoscopy might be warranted before definitive therapy.