Carcinoma of the endometrium in Norway 1957-1960 with special reference to treatment results.

Abstract The total cases of endometrial carcinoma in Norway from 1957 through 1960 has been presented. The series comprises 634 cases, of which 404 were treated in the Norwegian Radium Hospital and 230 in other hospitals. The anatomic extent of the disease, as decided by international staging and by depth of infiltration of the uterine wall, increases with increasing age, concomitant with a decreasing survival rate. The undifferentiated carcinomas seem to have a poorer prognosis than the highly differentiated tumors. In Stage I patients operation seems to be superior to radiation treatment, with survival rates of 84.1 per cent and 63.5 per cent, respectively. Postoperative radiation following adequate operation in Stage I seems to be of doubtful value. The most striking trend in this series is the increasing mortality with increasing age, even if corrected for natural mortality. The most attractive hypothesis to explain the age-dependent mortality is the lack of steroid (gestagen) in older age groups.