Ninety-day surgery-related outcomes of laparoscopic hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and sentinel node mapping in apparent early-stage endometrial cancer: a secondary analysis of a prospective single-arm study

Objective: Limited prospective data are available on the outcomes and performance of sentinel node mapping (SNM) in patients with endometrial cancer (EC). This study aimed to describe the surgical outcomes related to laparoscopic staging and the performance of SNM in patients with apparent early-stage EC. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a prospective single-arm study focusing on predictors of nodal disease in apparent early-stage EC. This analysis focused on 90-day surgical outcomes of patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery, including hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and SNM. Results: Overall, 210 patients were evaluated: 178 (84.8 %) patients had endometrioid EC and 32 (15.2 %) patients had non-endometrioid EC. No conversions to open surgery were reported at the time of SNM. Two (1 %) patients converted to open surgery for completion of hysterectomy. Unilateral mapping was achieved in all patients (n = 210, 100 %), with a bilateral pelvic detection rate of 93.8 % (n = 197). Sentinel nodes in the para-aortic area were detected in 19 patients (9 %). The majority of sentinel nodes were located in the external iliac area (55.7 % on the right side and 58.6 % on the left side), followed by the obturator area (26.1 % on the right side and 22.9 % on the left side) and internal iliac area (11.9 % on the right side and 8.1 % on the left side). Overall, 41 patients (19.5 %) had positive nodes detected, with low-volume disease observed in 21 (10 %) patients. Eight (3.8 %) patients had moderate (grade 2) 90-day complications. Three (1.4 %) patients had severe (grade 3) 90-day complications. Conclusions: Laparoscopic surgical staging for apparent early-stage endometrial cancer is safe and effective. Long-term data are needed to assess oncological outcomes.