Does hysteroscopy produce intraperitoneal spread of endometrial cancer cells?
Revel A; Tsafrir A; Anteby SO; Shushan A Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hadassah Ein-kerem, University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel. arielrevel@hotmail.com Hysteroscopy is the tool of choice for the evaluation of the endometrial cavity, including the assessment of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). The combination of endometrial biopsy and diagnostic hysteroscopy could replace dilation and curettage in most patients. However, hysteroscopy might disseminate endometrial cells into the peritoneum, thereby potentially raising the stage and decreasing the survival of a patient with endometrial cancer. The purpose of this article is to explore the dilemma of whether hysteroscopy produces intraperitoneal spread of endometrial cancer cells, and, if the answer is yes, what is the prognostic significance of isolated malignant cells in the peritoneal cavity. We conducted a literature search using MEDLINE using the following key words: hysteroscopy, endometrial carcinoma, and dissemination fo
