MISSED HYSTEROSCOPIC DETECTION OF UTERINE CARCINOMA BEFORE ENDOMETRIAL RESECTION - REPORT OF 3 CASES

Endometrial ablation or resection using hysteroscopy appears to be an effective treatment for menorrhagia resistant to medical therapy. Thre e patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma missed in the preoperative hysteroscopic and histological assessment and subjected to endometrial resection were collected in a multicenter study, One case was an earl y adenocarcinoma in the background of late proliferative endometrium i n a 39-year-old woman. In the other two patients, ages 51 and 68, the adenocarcinoma developed in a polyp in a background of simple hyperpla sia. Since hysteroscopy with endometrial biopsy might not be able to e xclude the presence of an early intrauterine cancer, appropriate selec tion and accurate evaluation of patients are imperative before ablativ e surgery. Endometrial resection is preferred over endometrial laser a blation since it provides additional tissue for histologic examination . (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.