Minimally invasive staging of endometrial cancer is feasible and safe in elderly women.

Overview

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the surgical outcome of elderly and younger patients undergoing laparoscopic or robotic surgical staging of endometrial cancer. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: University-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty-nine patients comprised the study group. Sixty patients were aged 65 years or older (elderly group), and 69 patients were younger than 65 years (younger group). INTERVENTION: Abdominal, laparoscopic, or robotic hysterectomy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among the 109 patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic staging, there were no differences in estimated blood loss, lymph node count, surgical time, complications, rate of blood transfusion, conversion to laparotomy, and mean postoperative stay between elderly and younger patients. CONCLUSION: Minimally invasive surgical staging for endometrial cancer is both feasible and safe in the elderly population and offers similar outcomes as in younger patients.