Indications for Adjuvant Radiation Therapy in Patients With pN0(i +) Adenocarcinoma of the Endometrium

Abstract

Sentinel lymph node biopsy has led to an increase in the detection of isolated tumor cells (ITCs) in up to 10% of early stage endometrioid endometrial cancer patients. In addition, the risk of nonsentinel lymph node involvement is approximately 10% or lower in patients with ITCs. In most studies, approximately 60% to 70% of patients with ITCs either underwent completion lymphadenectomy or received adjuvant therapy. Therefore, although multiple studies have shown that the effect of ITCs on disease outcomes is favorable, the true effect of ITCs without additional treatment is not known. In this report we describe our philosophy of relying on extent of surgical nodal staging and presence or absence of adverse intrauterine pathologic factors at the time of adjuvant therapy decision making for endometrioid endometrial carcinoma patients with ITCs.