The clinical significance of lymphovascular space invasion in patients with low-risk endometrial cancer

Abstract

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of lymphovascular space invasion on recurrence and disease-free survival in patients with low-risk endometrial cancer. METHODS: The study included patients with stage 1A, grade 1–2 endometrioid endometrial cancer who underwent a total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy. Independent prognostic predictors of endometrial cancer recurrence were assessed using the Cox regression model. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of distant recurrence. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to describe survival curves, and the log-rank test was used to compare the differences in survival curves. RESULTS: A total of 189 patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 24 (12.7%) had lymphovascular space invasion. The median follow-up time was 60 (3–137) months. Distant recurrence was present in 11 of 22 patients who developed recurrence. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the 5-year disease-free survival rates of patients with lymphovascular space invasion(+) and lymphovascular space invasion(-) were 62.5 and 91.9%, respectively, which were significantly lower (p<0.001). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, the presence of lymphovascular space invasion (p<0.001) and age ≥60 years (p=0.017) remained as prognostic factors for reduced disease-free survival. In binary logistic regression analysis, only lymphovascular space invasion (adjusted OR=13, 95%CI=1.456–116.092, p=0.022) was a prognostic factor for distant recurrence. CONCLUSION: lymphovascular space invasion is a prognostic risk factor for recurrence and distant metastasis and also a predictor of poorer disease-free survival outcomes in low-risk endometrial cancer.