The Impact of Intra-Uterine Manipulators on Outcome and Recurrence Patterns of Endometrial Cancer Patients Undergoing Minimally Invasive Surgery

PurposeTo evaluate the use of an intrauterine manipulator on the oncologic outcome of women who had minimally invasive surgery for endometrial cancer. MethodsRetrospective analysis of consecutive patients who were operated with or without the use of an intrauterine manipulator. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to adjust for possible confounders. Results699 patients were included, of whom 220 (32.8%) were operated with an intrauterine manipulator. The median follow-up was 44 months (range, 29-67). Disease-free survival was similar between groups. 19 (8.8%) patients had positive cytology in the manipulator group vs. 21 (4.4%) in the comparison group (p=0.02). Total recurrence rate was similar between the groups (12.3% vs. 11.9%; p = 0.8). Vaginal vault recurrence was the most common site of recurrence with higher incidence in the manipulator group (4.5% vs. 1.3%; p=0.007). Sub-group analysis of patients who did not receive adjuvant treatment showed higher recurrence rate (8.3% vs. 3%; p=0.023) and worse disease-free survival (p=0.01) for the manipulator group. After controlling for other variables, the use of a manipulator did not affect the risk of recurrence for the whole cohort (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.7-2.1, p=0.3) and for the sub-group of patients who did not receive adjuvant treatment (HR, 2.47; 95% CI, 0.8-7, p=0.08).ConclusionThe use of a manipulator during surgery for endometrial cancer increases the risk of positive cytology as well as vaginal vault recurrences, but it does not reduce the disease-free and overall survival of patients.