ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate correlation between risk factors of endometrial carcinoma and histopatholgic findings of endometrium. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 148 postmenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding, who underwent endometrial biopsy from January 2009 to April 2010. Women who had hematologic disease, or had non-uterine pelvic diseases were excluded. Hormone therapy was performed in indicated subjects. Age, body mass index (BMI), associated diseases, endometrial thickness checked by transvaginal sonography, whether hormone therapy was used were reviewed according to endometrial histopathology. RESULTS: Mean age of the subjects was 58.9 +/- 8.4years old. Among the endometrial histopathologic findings, atrophic endometrium was the most common finding (32.7%), followed by hyperplastic endometrium (17.8%), endometrial carcinoma (10.4%), and endometrial polyp (9.2%). BMI was not correlation of the prevalence of endometrial carcinoma and endometrial hyperplasia. Mean endometrial thickness was 9.8 +/- 5.56 mm, while it was 14.0 +/- 5.89 mm in endometrial hyperplasia, and 16.0 +/- 6.56 mm in endometrial carcinoma. The prevalence of endometrial cancer was high in those whose endometrial thickness was more than 10 mm (P < 0.001). The prevalence of endometrial hyperplasia in those whose postmenopausal bleeding was related to hormone therapy was higher than of women in whom hormone therapy was not performed. However, there were no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Postmenopausal bleeding must be considered as indicative of malignant disease until proven otherwise. Endometrial biopsy should be performed to exclude endometrial carcinoma in postmenopausal women whose endometrial thickness measured by transvaginal sonography is thick.