Reproductive and obstetric outcomes after radical abdominal trachelectomy for early-stage cervical cancer in a series of 31 pregnancies.

STUDY QUESTION

What are the reproductive and obstetric outcomes in patients undergoing radical abdominal trachelectomy (RAT) for early-stage cervical cancer?

SUMMARY ANSWER

When RAT was performed before a pregnancy achieved with fertility treatments, pregnancy rate of 36.2% was obtained and 71.4% of these women gave birth at ≥ 32 weeks of gestation.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

Reproductive and obstetric outcomes after radical vaginal trachelectomy (RVT) are well documented; however, these outcomes after RAT have not been well studied.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients at a single institution who underwent RAT and became pregnant. Reproductive and obstetric outcomes of 114 patients who had undergone RAT from September 2002 to December 2010 were investigated.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIAL, SETTING, METHODS: Women of reproductive age with early-stage cervical cancer who wished to preserve their fertility were documented.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

Patients' median age was 33 years (25-40 years). A total of 31 pregnancies were achieved in 25 patients and 6 patients had 2 pregnancies. Eighteen of 25 patients (72.0%) had infertility problems; 17 patients conceived with IVF-embryo transfer and 1 patient with intrauterine insemination. The pregnancy rate among patients who wished to conceive was 36.2% (25/69). Among 31 pregnancies in 25 patients, 4 patients had first trimester miscarriage and 1 patient had second trimester miscarriage. Excluding the five patients who miscarried and the five ongoing pregnancies, all the 21 patients had deliveries by Cesarean section. Four patients had a preterm birth in the second trimester and 17 patients delivered in the third trimester. Of the 17 pregnancies that reached the third trimester, 2 (11.8%) were preterm births between 29 and 32 weeks, 11 (64.7%) were delivered between 32 and 37 weeks and 4 (23.5%) at ≥ 37 weeks of gestation.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Because of the retrospective data collection, not all pregnancies may have been recorded.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Prospective multicenter studies are needed to determine if the results shown in this retrospective cohort can be generalized to all patients with early-stage cervical cancer who wish to undergo the fertility-sparing RAT procedure.