Recurrence Rates of Cervical Cancer Following Radical Hysterectomy for Early Stage Cervical Cancer in Western Australia From 2010 To 2014

Introduction: In Western Australia, laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) has superseded open radical hysterectomy as the primary surgical treatment modality for early stage cervical cancer. Internationally reported rates of recurrence vary from 6–30% across both modalities. The aim of this study was to compare rates of recurrent disease following LRH to those after open radical hysterectomy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent open radical hysterectomy or LRH with lymphadenectomy for stages 1A2 – 1B1 cervical cancer. The surgeries were performed by members of the Western Australian Gynaecological Cancer Service between 2010 and 2014. Data was collected from the minutes of the weekly tumour conference and the notes of the oncology services.

Results: 80 women received surgery for early stage cervical cancer in Western Australia between 2010 and 2014. 61 women had LRH (76.3%) and 19 underwent open radical hysterectomy (23.7%). Recurrence of cervical cancer was detected in 6 women (7.5%) with 1 recurrence following abdominal radical hysterectomy (5.2%) and 5 following LRH (8.2%). Of the women with a known recurrence, 2 were lost to follow‐up and 1 died from a related lung metastasis.

Discussion: LRH had comparable oncologic outcomes to open radical hysterectomy for similarly staged cervical cancer. The rates of recurrence were low across both groups with high rates of patient follow‐up, in keeping with internationally published data. Short‐term outcomes appear comparable in this small analysis; however, further follow‐up is required. There was no observed significant difference in the recurrence rates of patients treated with open or laparoscopic surgery.