Impact of a reduction in follow-up frequency on life expectancy in uterine cervical cancer patients

Impact of lymphadenectomy in patients with locally recurrent or persistent cervical cancer treated with salvage hysterectomy

AIM

To investigate the role of lymphadenectomy (LND) in locally recurrent or persistent cervical cancer patients treated with salvage hysterectomy.

METHODS

Locally recurrent or persistent cervical cancer patients treated with salvage hysterectomy, with or without LND, were identified. Patients were divided into two groups according to the status of radiologic evidence of lymph node metastasis, and the impact of LND was investigated by evaluating postoperative survival.

RESULTS

This study included 72 patients; 48 did not show radiological evidence of lymph node metastasis (Group 1) while 24 did (Group 2). Overall, the addition of LND to salvage hysterectomy resulted in increased postoperative complications. In Group 1, salvage hysterectomy plus LND resulted in the identification of five cases with false-negative lymph nodes (19.2%), but showed no advantage over salvage hysterectomy alone in terms of postoperative survival. In Group 2, all patients underwent LND, which resulted in the identification of eight cases with false-positive nodes (33.3%), and reasonably long postoperative survival. The estimated 3-year postoperative survival rate in this group was 39.7%.

CONCLUSION

Including LND in salvage hysterectomy allows for precise lymph node staging but increases risk of postoperative complications. However, considering the inability to improve survival, LND should not be performed during salvage hysterectomy in patients without radiological evidence of lymph node metastasis. In patients with radiological evidence of lymph node metastasis, salvage hysterectomy plus LND can only be performed in those who understand the risk of postoperative complications and the limited evidence supporting its survival advantage.

Significance of the Number and the Location of Metastatic Lymph Nodes in Locally Recurrent or Persistent Cervical Cancer Patients Treated with Salvage Hysterectomy plus Lymphadenectomy

We retrospectively investigated the significance of metastatic lymph nodes in patients with locally recurrent or persistent cervical cancer in a previously irradiated field and subsequently had salvage hysterectomy. Clinical data were obtained from a chart review, and the prognostic impact of the presence, number (1–2 versus ≥3), and location (pelvic versus pelvic plus para-aortic) of lymph node metastasis was investigated by comparing recurrence and survival. In total, 50 patients were included in this study, of which 21 (42.0%) showed pathological evidence of lymph node metastasis (node-positive group). Both the univariate and multivariate analyses showed that lymph node metastasis was an independent prognostic factor for postoperative recurrence (hazard ratio (HR) 5.36; 95% CI 1.41–6.66; p = 0.0020). The predominant sites of recurrence after salvage surgery were the visceral organs and lymph nodes in the node-negative and node-positive groups, respectively. Patients with ≥3 node metastases showed similar survival to those with 1–2 node metastases. Patients with pelvic node metastasis showed similar survival to those with pelvic and para-aortic node metastases. The presence, not number or location, of lymph node metastasis was an independent poor prognostic factor for post-operative recurrence in patients who developed locally recurrent or persistent cervical cancer treated with salvage hysterectomy plus lymphadenectomy.

A Research Study to Measure the Efficacy of Terminating Cervical Cancer via Customized Optimum Pathway

Background

To develop a precise prognostic model of overall survival in patients with terminating cervical cancer based on surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) program.

Methods

The patients were retrieved from SEER data who are diagnosed with terminating cervical cancer from 2004 to 2016. The data were performed using univariate and multivariate analyses and constructed nomograms for predicting survival. Use C-index to validate the model accuracy.

Results

Totally 15839 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer were independently allocated into the training set (n = 11088) and validation set (n = 4751). The multivariate analysis results indicated that age, race, stage_T, stage_M, and stage_N were confirmed as independent risk predictors, and those factors are applied to construct this clinical model. The C-index of overall survival in the training set was 0.6816 (95% confidence intervene (CI), 0.694-0.763) and that in the validation set was 0.6931(95% CI, 0.613-0.779). All calibration curves of various factors were consistent with predicted and actual survival.

Conclusion

The nomogram provides a novel method for predicting the survival of patients with terminating cervical cancer, assisting in accurate therapeutic methods for patients with primary terminating cervical cancer.

The significance of post-radiotherapy parametrial involvement and the necessity of parametrial resection in locally-recurrent or persistent cervical cancer developed after radiotherapy

OBJECTIVE

To retrospectively evaluated the prognostic significance of post-radiotherapy parametrial involvement (PMI), the necessity of parametrial resection, and the optimal salvage surgery in locally recurrent or persistent cervical cancer developed after radiotherapy.

METHODS

Patients who developed recurrent or persistent cervical cancer in a previously irradiated field and were subsequently treated with salvage surgery were identified, and the prognostic impact of post-radiotherapy PMI on patient's survival was first investigated. Then, the optimal salvage surgery for patients with post-radiotherapy PMI as well as the predictors for post-radiotherapy PMI were evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 60 patients underwent salvage surgery for recurrent or persistent diseases. Of these, 21 (35.0%) showed post-radiotherapy PMI (PMI-group). Patients in PMI-group showed significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) than those in non-PMI-group (p = 0.01). In both PMI-group and non-PMI-group, PFS was affected by the completeness of salvage surgery. In non-PMI-group, less radical surgery achieved similar therapeutic efficacy to more radical surgery (3-year PFS rates: 62.5% versus 54.1%, p = 0.91). In contrast, in PMI-group, not less radical surgery but more radical surgery achieved curative therapeutic efficacy (3-year PFS rate: 0% versus 28.9%). Maximum tumor diameter, deep stromal invasion, and LVSI were found to be predictors of post-radiotherapy PMI.

CONCLUSION

Post-radiotherapy PMI is an indicator of short survival after salvage surgery in patients with locally recurrent or persistent cervical cancer developed after radiotherapy. Both less radical and more radical surgery have curative therapeutic efficacies in patients without post-radiotherapy PMI, if the tumor could be resected with an adequate surgical margin. Thus, hysterectomy type should be tailored to the risk for post-radiotherapy PMI.