BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and hysteroscopy (HS) for assessing cervical involvement in early-stage endometrial adenocarcinoma in order to establish a more reliable screening method to aid in clinical decision-making.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinicopathological data from 88 patients with stage I or II endometrial adenocarcinoma who underwent MRI and HS prior to surgery in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, China. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were performed to compare the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values in the diagnosis of cervical involvement by MRI and HS. The relationship between clinicopathological factors and the deviation of diagnosis by MRI and HS from that by pathology was also analyzed.

RESULTS: The accuracy of assessing cervical conditions was 93.2% by MRI and 55.7% by HS. Among these variables, the accuracy, specificity, and positive predictive values of MRI were significantly different from those of HS, while the sensitivity and negative predictive values of MRI and HS were not significantly different from each other. Age, tumor size, tumor differentiation, and depth of myometrial invasion were not associated with the differences in cervical assessment between MRI and HS. However, the tumor location may affect assessment by HS.

CONCLUSIONS: MRI is better than HS for cervical assessment. The negative predictive values of both MRI and HS are high and unsatisfactory.

Keywords: Endometrial Neoplasms, Hysteroscopy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging