title: Does diagnostic hysteroscopy in patients with stage I endometrial carcinoma cause positive peritoneal washings?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous studies have shown that positive peritoneal washings may adversely affect cancer survival rates and that hysteroscopy is associated with a higher risk of positive washings in patients with endometrial carcinoma. Our aim was to assess if diagnostic hysteroscopy increases the risk of positive peritoneal washings in patients with endometrial cancer and affects the prognosis after surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study. The medical records of 50 consecutive patients with endometrial carcinoma, diagnosed with hysteroscopy and tissue sampling and treated by abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and peritoneal washings were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 43 patients with endometrial carcinoma FIGO stage I, none had positive peritoneal washings (95%CI: 0-8.2%). The mean interval between hysteroscopy and surgery was 33.5 days. The 5-year disease-specific survival rate was 91.8%, the 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 85.4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Diagnostic hysteroscopy had no adverse effect on the incidence of positive peritoneal washings or on prognosis in stage I endometrial cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biewenga
authors.forename: Sjoerd
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Blok
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Birnie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015907:Hysteroscopy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009366:Neoplasm Seeding; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies