Evaluation of tumor-free distance and depth of myometrial invasion as prognostic factors in endometrial cancer

The aim of the study was to investigate whether the tumor free distance (TFD), which is the distance in millimeters between the deepest point of invasion and the serosal surface, and absolute depth of invasion (DMI), the distance in millimeters between the endomyometrial junction and the deepest point of myometrial invasion, are useful in surgical staging and in predicting prognosis. The present study retrospectively analyzed 62 cases of endometrial carcinoma with complete surgical staging, carried out over a 4 and half-year period (January 2003 to June 2007). All surgicopathological findings including surgical stages, histological type and grade, myometrial invasion, lymphovascular space invasion, cervical and adnexal involvement, and lymph node metastasis were abstracted from medical records and pathological reports. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed comparing TFD, DMI and the percentage of mypmetrial invasion (MI) with established prognostic factors. A total of 62 patients were included in the study. A total of 52 (84%) had endometrioid carcinomas and 31 patients (60%) had grade 1 cancer. The deepest MI was