Radical hysterectomy compared with primary radiation for treatment of stage IB1 cervix cancer.

OBJECTIVE

We reviewed data on treatment of stage IB1 cervical cancer at our institution to compare recurrence, complications, and survival of women treated primarily by radical hysterectomy versus radiation.

METHODS

Records for women treated for stage IB1 cervical cancer between January 1, 1990 and June 1, 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Recurrence, survival outcomes, and complications were examined and compared. Demographic, clinical, and histopathologic factors were also analyzed.

RESULTS

Of 198 patients with stage IB1 cervix cancer, 169 (85%) underwent radical hysterectomy, including 37 (20%) who received postoperative radiation, and 29 (15%) were treated primarily with radiotherapy±chemotherapy. Progression-free survival, overall survival, and disease-specific survival were all longer in the surgery group (89%, 95%, and 96%) versus the radiation group (70%, 70%, and 78%), respectively (P<0.001). Patients in the radiation group were older, had larger tumors, and were more likely to have medical comorbidities than patients in the surgery group. Within the surgical cohort, lymphvascular space invasion, outer third cervical stromal invasion, positive surgical margins, and lymph node metastasis were all predictive of recurrence (P<0.002), whereas histopathology, smoking, diabetes, and immunosuppression were not. Grade 3 or 4 complication rates were higher among the 29 patients who had primary radiotherapy (20.7%) and the 37 patients who had surgery followed by radiotherapy (21.6%) compared with the 132 patients who had surgery only (9.1%) (P=0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

Primary treatment of stage IB1 cervix cancer with radical hysterectomy±adjuvant radiation resulted in a significantly lower rate of recurrence and an improved survival with fewer complications compared with radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.