Estrogen replacement in surgical stage I and II endometrial cancer survivors.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to evaluate our experience with estrogen replacement in women with a history of early-stage endometrial cancer and to determine whether it increased the risk for recurrence or death.


METHODS
A retrospective review was performed of 123 women with surgical stage I and II endometrial adenocarcinoma treated between 1984 and 1994; 62 had received estrogen replacement therapy after cancer therapy. Sixty-one women received no estrogen. Variables analyzed included age parity, surgical stage, grade, depth of myometrial invasion, presence of intercurrent illnesses, duration of follow-up, and duration of estrogen replacement, if applicable. Outcome variables assessed included recurrence rate, time to recurrence, and disease-free interval.


RESULTS
The estrogen replacement therapy group had earlier stage disease (p = 0.04) and less severe depth of invasion (p = 0.003); however, the total number of deaths in each group was not significantly different. The disease-free survival in the estrogen replacement therapy group did not differ significantly compared with those not receiving estrogen replacement therapy. The data are suggestive of improved disease-free survival in the estrogen replacement therapy group, which may be related to differences in age, stage, grade, and depth of invasion. The overall recurrence rate was 6.5%, with an overall death rate of 1.6%.


CONCLUSIONS
There is no evidence to suggest that estrogen decreased the disease-free interval or increased the risk for recurrence in early-stage disease.
Chapman
J A
JA
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, USA.
DiSaia
P J
PJ
Osann
K
K
Roth
P D
PD
Gillotte
D L
DL
Berman
M L
ML
D000368:Aged; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging