title: The value of imaging of the lungs in the diagnostic workup of patients with endometrial cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Imaging of the lungs is part of the routine diagnostic workup of patients with endometrial cancer. The present study aimed to determine the incidence of lung metastases in patients with endometrial cancer and to evaluate the clinical relevance of preoperative chest imaging in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed in four regional and one university hospital in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. A total of 784 patients with epithelial endometrial cancer diagnosed between 2002 and 2010 in five hospitals were included. Patients were followed up for at least 1 year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 784 patients, 541 (69.0%) underwent thoracic imaging and 11 showed findings suspicious for metastases perioperatively or during the 1-year follow-up period. In eight patients, the thoracic metastases were related to their endometrial cancer, resulting in an overall incidence of 1.0% (8/784, 95% CI=0.3-1.7%). These eight patients had high-risk subtypes of endometrial cancer (serous, clear cell or poorly differentiated endometrioid), and the incidence was 4.1% (8/193, 95% CI=1.9-8.3%) for these subtypes. Lung metastases were not detected in any of the patients with low-risk subtypes of endometrial cancer (n=566) at the time of diagnosis (95% CI=0-0.8%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The probability of detecting thoracic metastases during the diagnostic workup of patients with endometrial cancer is low. The present data suggest that thoracic imaging could be omitted from the diagnostic workup of patients with low-risk endometrial cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L C M
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Amkreutz
authors.forename: H J M M
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nurseta
authors.forename: M J A
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Engelen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergmans
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nolting
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van Gorp
authors.forename: R F P M
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Kruitwagen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D009426:Netherlands; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Endometrial cancer; Lung metastases; Thoracic imaging