Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of using 3-dimensional transvaginal ultrasound (3D-TVUS) to diagnose the extent of invasive cervical cancer.
Methods: Using 3D-TVUS, we prospectively examined 24 patients diagnosed with locally advanced invasive cervical cancer before primary surgery. Parametrial, vaginal, bladder, and rectal invasion, alongside cancer staging, was evaluated in the orthogonal planes. We compared the preoperative clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasonography findings with the histological results from surgery.
Results: With respect to cancer staging, accuracy was 62.5% with clinical examination, 40.9% with MRI, and 66.7% with TVUS. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated both low specificity (64.3%) and accuracy (68.2%) for nodal involvement. For the detection of parametrial invasion: sensitivity was 25% with clinical exanimation, 75% with MRI, and 75% with TVUS; specificity was 55.6% with MRI and 90% with TVUS; accuracy was 59% with MRI and 87.5% with TVUS. Although there was no case with bladder or rectal invasion, TVUS and MRI showed high specificity for the assessment of these. Clinical examination was useful for the detection of vaginal involvement.
Conclusions: Preoperative 3D-TVUS may prove to be an excellent method for the evaluation of locally advanced cervical cancer. Transvaginal ultrasound also has advantages over MRI for the assessment of tumor volume and Doppler velocimetry and is a low-cost alternative. However, TVUS cannot identify nodal or distant metastasis.