Significance of positive peritoneal cytology for recurrence and survival in patients with endometrial cancer

Aim This study aims to examine the association between malignant peritoneal cytology and prognosis in women with endometrial cancer. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the records of patients with endometrial cancer who underwent surgery with intraoperative peritoneal cytology at our hospital between January 1988 and December 2012. All results were reclassified according to the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system, and the relation between intraoperative peritoneal cytology results and recurrence and prognosis was examined. Results Of the 908 patients analyzed, 205 (22.6%) had positive peritoneal cytology. Patients with positive peritoneal cytology had significantly lower rates of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) than those in the negative cytology group (both p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis of patients with FIGO stage I/II showed significantly lower RFS in the positive-cytology group (p = 0.005), but there was no significant difference in OS (p = 0.637). In the patients with FIGO stage III/IV or patients classified as "high risk," the RFS and OS were significantly lower in the positive-cytology group (both p < 0.001). Cox regression analysis identified positive peritoneal cytology as a significant predictor of recurrence in patients with FIGO stage I/II disease. Conclusions Patients with positive peritoneal cytology for endometrial cancer have a high risk of recurrence, regardless of histopathologic type or FIGO stage. Peritoneal cytology has already been removed from the 2009 FIGO classification of endometrial cancer, but it may deserve reconsideration.