Disease-free interval after primary treatment predicts prognosis of recurrent endometrial carcinoma.

AIM The aim of this study was to determine if the disease-free interval after initial surgical resection has any useful prognostic value for recurrent endometrial carcinoma patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1998 and 2007, complete resection of endometrial carcinoma was achieved in 536 cases at the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Osaka University and Osaka Rosai Hospitals of Osaka, Japan. Clinical characteristics of these cases were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS Recurrence was subsequently detected in 54 cases. Overall survival after recurrence in 27 patients with recurrences earlier than 12 months who received no postoperative therapy, radiation, and chemotherapy as an adjuvant therapy were significantly shorter than that of those with recurrences later than 12 months with similar treatments. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the disease-free interval was an independent factor for prognosis. CONCLUSION We demonstrate a significantly worse prognosis in cases with early versus late recurrence of resected endometrial carcinomas, irrespective of the type of adjuvant therapy.