Rethinking traditional surgical-pathologic criteria for early endometrial cancer: Studies of patterns of failure

During 2007, an estimated 39 080 new cases and 7400 deaths will be attributed to corpus cancer in the USA.1 Of major concern is the realization that while the incidence of endometrial carcinoma has remained stable over the past decade, the annual number of deaths from this disease has more than doubled since 1987 (2900 deaths). Presumably the causes of these sobering statistics are multifactorial, but they obligate us to reassess more objectively and critically the screening, diagnostic, staging, and treatment practices that guide the overall management of this neoplasm.The variability in the staging and treatment algorithms, which are generally predicated on institutional and/or individual physician philosophies, are a noteworthy obstacle to achieving optimal management of this disease.2.