[Analysis of the relationship between clinicopathological features and pelvic lymph node metastasis in patients with early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate clinical and pathologic factors associated with pelvic lymph node metastasis in patients with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

METHODS

From February 2004 to January 2007, 135 patients with stage Ib-IIa cervical squamous cell carcinoma in Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, were retrospectively studied. The relationship between pelvic lymph node metastasis and age, clinical stage, tumor size, grade of differentiation, depth of muscular invasion, lymphatic vascular space invasion, pretreatment level of serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen, pretreatment plasma level of fibrinogen, pretreatment levels of hemoglobin and platelet were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

Totally 3996 lymph nodes were dissected in 135 patients, with an average of 29.6 lymph nodes in each patient. 12.6% of the patients (17/135) had metastasized pelvic lymph nodes. Univariate analysis indicated that tumor size (P = 0.003), depth of muscular invasion (P = 0.004), vascular space invasion (P < 0.01), pretreatment levels of platelet (P = 0.006) and fibrinogen (P < 0.01) were significantly related to pelvic lymph node metastasis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that lymphatic vascular space invasion (OR: 3.674, 95% CI: 1.825 - 7.393, P < 0.01) and pretreatment plasma level of fibrinogen (OR: 4.568, 95% CI: 1.779 - 11.725, P = 0.002) were significantly related to pelvic lymph node metastasis in patients with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

CONCLUSION

In early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma, lymphatic vascular space invasion and higher pretreatment plasma levels of fibrinogen are risk factors of pelvic lymph node metastasis.