Accuracy of endometrial aspiration in the diagnosis of endometrial cancer.

A study was performed to evaluate the cytologic criteria for recognizing endometrial cancer and to determine the accuracy of endometrial aspiration in its detection. In addition to the conventional cytologic criteria for the diagnosis of endometrial cancer, the irregular chromatin distribution around the macronucleoli proved to be a useful criterion. Using all criteria, cytology was reported as positive in 18 of 19 patients (94.7%) with endometrial cancer. In 856 of 12,563 high-risk outpatients at Kinki University Hospital, aspiration using the Masubuchi apparatus was carried out in screening for endometrial cancer. Cancer was detected in 18 patients (2.1%), with 94.7% of the cancers detected by the cytologic screening. This result indicates that endometrial aspiration using the Masubuchi apparatus is a reliable and safe method of screening for endometrial cancer.