Pilot study prospectively evaluating the use of the measurement of preoperative sonographic endometrial thickness in postmenopausal patients with endometrial cancer.

Objective: The value of sonographic evaluation of the endometrial thickness as a screening or a prognostic tool for endometrial cancer remains controversial. The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate the endometrial thickness in women with known endometrial cancer to assess the predictive value of this modality and its preoperative use in this disease.

Design: In a prospective, nonrandomized trial, 29 patients with pathologically confirmed endometrial cancer had preoperative transvaginal ultrasound and endometrial thickness evaluated. Body mass index (BMI) and endometrial thickness were recorded and correlated with surgical and pathologic information.

Results: The median age at diagnosis of endometrial cancer was 61.6 years (range, 48-87 years). Tumor grade was as follows: grade 1, 23; grade 2, 3; and grade 3, 3. All patients had an endometrial stripe of 5.0 mm or more. The median preoperative sonographic endometrial stripe was 12.0 mm (range, 5.0-32.0 mm). After surgery, 25 patients (86%) were diagnosed with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I disease (IA, 8; IB, 14; IC, 3), 2 (7%) with stage II disease, and 2 (7%) with stage III disease. Median BMI was 33 (range, 20-56). The patients' BMIs were found to be directly associated with endometrial thickness (rank correlation = 0.39; P = 0.03). Stage was only marginally associated with endometrial thickness (correlation 0.23; P = 0.07). Sonographic endometrial thickness was not associated with depth of myometrial invasion. No correlation was found between endometrial thickness and patient age or tumor grade.

Conclusions: Although patients with endometrial cancer and a high BMI are likely to have a thickened endometrial stripe, endometrial thickness does not correlate with tumor grade or stage. The use of preoperative transvaginal ultrasound in diagnosed endometrial cancer appears limited.