Outcome of Occult Uterine Leiomyosarcoma After Surgery for Presumed Uterine Fibroids: A Systematic Review

There is concern that morcellation of occult leiomyosarcomas during surgery to treat presumed myomas may substantially worsen patient outcome. We reviewed the existing medical literature to better understand whether such a risk was demonstrable and, if so, what the magnitude of that risk might be. We identified 4864 articles initially, of which 60 were evaluated in full. Seventeen were found to have outcomes information and are included in this review. Six studies addressed the question of whether morcellation of occult leiomyosarcomas resulted in inferior outcomes as compared with en bloc uterine and tumor removal. In these 6 studies, results suggested that en bloc removal may result in improved survival and less recurrence; however, the data are highly biased and of poor quality. There is no reliable evidence that morcellation, power or otherwise, substantially results in tumor upstaging. There is no evidence from these 17 studies that power morcellation differs in any way from other types of morcellation or even simple myomectomy insofar as patient outcome. Whether electromechanical morcellation poses a unique danger to the patient with occult leiomyosarcoma is an unanswered question and one clearly in need of more extensive investigation before conclusions are drawn and policies created.