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Minimum surgical treatment for endometrial cancer is removal of the uterus. The operative approach to achieve that goal ranges from vaginal hysterectomy alone to laparotomy with radical hysterectomy, bilateral salpingoophorectomy, bilateral pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy with possible omentectomy, and resection of all metastatic disease. Stratifying the risk factors for predicting presence of metastatic disease has error rates exceeding tolerance for many gynecologic oncologists. Most accept routine laparoscopic surgical staging with hysterectomy, pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, and removal of adnexa as standard care for patients with endometrial cancer. Modifying the extent of surgical staging for low-risk intrauterine findings or excessive risk for postoperative morbidity is also accepted. Laparoscopic surgery has become the ideal initial surgical approach for this disease, allowing for visual inspection of common metastatic sites, biopsy of abnormal areas, and cytology from peritoneal surfaces. The extent of staging can be altered depending on frozen section findings from the uterus, adnexa, and peritoneal surfaces. Intraoperative medical decision-making can be individualized, encompassing all known risk factors for metastases and balancing comorbidities and potential adverse outcomes. This article documents how laparoscopic surgery satisfies the needs of individual patients and surgeons treating this disease.

The changes in cervical cytology characterization agreed on by the Bethesda committee meeting in 2001 created a category of atypical findings that has caused some management confusion. By description, the characterization of cervical cytology as only atypical implies a less worrisome prognosis. However, more than 40% of high-grade (CIN II or III or cancer) will be discovered within this category. The development and Food and Drug Administration approval of the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC-2; Digene Corporation, Gaithersburg, MD) for detecting high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) subtypes and the subsequent level I evidence supporting use of this test in the triage of women with atypical cytology has revolutionized the management of this cytology. With this success has come numerous additional uses for HR-HPV testing in the treatment and follow-up of women with a variety of cytologic abnormalities. This article reviews the literature on uses of HR-HPV testing in this population, with reference to currently accepted guidelines.