[Vaginosonographic measurement of the postmenopausal endometrium in the early detection of endometrial cancer].

Vaginosonographic measurements of the endometrium were performed in 155 postmenopausal women without abnormal gynecological findings and free of any clinical symptoms. An endometrial thickness of greater than or equal to 4 mm was clarified histologically by means of a curettage. We found endometrial carcinomas in seven cases, cervical carcinomas in one, endometrial polyps in ten and glandular-cystic hyperplasia in three cases. One patient showed an atrophic endometrium associated with a submucous myoma. In total, endometrial carcinomas were detected by sonography in 4.5% of our patients. On the basis of our preliminary results, we conclude that vaginosonographic examination of the endometrium is a highly sensitive (81%) and specific (89%) method, with good acceptance by the patients, in the detection of asymptomatic benign and malignant neoplasms of the postmenopausal woman.