Effect of Radiotherapy in Addition to Surgery in Early Stage Endometrial Cancer: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

Background: The role of radiotherapy in the management of early (FIGO I) endometrial cancer is controversial with limited availability of prospective data from randomized trials. Methods: German Epidemiologic Cancer Registries provided by the Robert Koch Institute. We considered FIGO I cases with recorded operative treatment (n = 12,718, 2000–2017). We computed hazard ratios (HR) from relative survival models in relation to the mortality of the general population with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Multivariate models were adjusted for age, stage (IA vs. IB), grading, and chemotherapy. Radiotherapy included external radiotherapy and brachytherapy. Results: Cases with a favorable risk profile (FIGO IA, G1/G2) had a slightly lower survival rate, relative to the general population (FIGO IA: 0.9, G1: 0.91). The proportion of FIGO IA cases was lower in the radiotherapy group (52.6%) vs. cases without radiotherapy (78.6%). Additional treatment with radiotherapy was beneficial in FIGO IB (HR = 0.74) and all histopathological grades, but not FIGO IA cases (HR = 0.93) cases. Compared to IA tumors, IB cases had a HR of 1.51 (95% CI: 1.34–1.7). Conclusions: Radiotherapy in addition to surgery is beneficial for patients in a FIGO IB stage. Further studies need to address the impact of new techniques and risk assessment.