Background: We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the
correlation between preoperative and final histologic diagnoses of endometrial
cancer and to identify clinicopathologic factors associated with the concordance
between initial and final hysterectomy specimens. Methods: Patients who
underwent primary surgical treatment for endometrial cancer at our institute from
January 2016 through December 2020 were enrolled. The International Federation of
Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) grade and histologic subtype in the pathologic
reports were recorded. The level of agreement of tumor grade and histologic type
were analyzed. Results: A total of 425 cases were recruited. The overall
level of agreement between preoperative grading was moderate according to kappa
statistics ( = 0.469, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.385, 0.553).
Furthermore, agreement related to the histologic subtype was substantial
( = 0.778, 95% CI: 0.682, 0.874). The most frequently used endometrial
sampling methods were the office endometrial sampling and endometrial curettage
(49.2% and 32%, respectively). Among each diagnostic method, manual vacuum
aspiration and endometrial curettage had high tumor grade correlation between the
preoperative sampling and final pathology ( = 0.743, 95% CI: 0.549,
0.937 and = 0.624, 95% CI: 0.512, 0.736, respectively). Negative
peritoneal cytology was was the significant factor associated with concordance
between preoperative endometrial sampling and final surgical pathology, with an
adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.01 (95% CI: 1.03, 3.92; p = 0.040).
Conclusions: Regardless of the different diagnostic methods,
preoperative endometrial biopsy has limitations in predicting tumor grade
compared with final hysterectomy specimens in women with endometrial cancer.