Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of hysterectomy in the control of pelvic disease in patients with post-irradiated residual cervical cancer.
Patients and methods: Forty patients were treated at either National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) or Delta Cancer Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIB to IIIB disease with residual disease after the following: either concurrent chemoradiation with or without brachytherapy, induction chemotherapy and external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with or without brachytherapy, or only EBRT. Patients were treated by either radical hysterectomy or extrafascial hysterectomy.
Results: From 2009 to June 2013, 55 patients were evaluated for central residual disease on their presentations to NICRH or Delta Hospital. Patients with distant recurrences after primary radiation were excluded. Forty patients had invasive cancer on biopsy and underwent either radical hysterectomy or extrafascial hysterectomy. Surgery was performed 14 to 18 weeks after the initial treatment. Of the 29 women who underwent extrafascial hysterectomy, four (13.8%) developed recurrent disease, and one died; none of the 11 patients treated by radical hysterectomy experienced recurrences during the study period. Morbidity was increased in patients who underwent radical hysterectomy. Overall 90% of patients (36 of 40 patients) who underwent surgery had no evidence of disease at 5 years of follow-up.
Conclusion: Surgery is a viable treatment option for patients with residual cervical cancer after radiation. Radical hysterectomy after radiation is more morbid but has better tumor control than extrafascial hysterectomy.