Aims and background: Recurrent cervical cancer has traditionally been associated with a dismal prognosis. Historically, patients who developed distant metastases from cervical cancer were not considered eligible for surgical resection; only palliative treatment options are available, generally consisting of chemo- and/or radiotherapy. Metastases usually appear in the liver, lung or lymph nodes. The abdominal cavity is a quite unusual site of recurrence and the disease usually has multiple foci. For this reason, peritoneal involvement by cervical cancer is considered a contraindication to local treatment.
Methods and study design: We report the first case of a 30-year-old woman with isolated intra-abdominal cervical cancer recurrence diagnosed with 18F-FDG PET/CT, successfully surgically treated.
Results: Histopathological analysis confirmed the tumor to be an omental relapse of squamous cervical cancer previously treated with anterior pelvic exenteration and platinum based chemotherapy. The patient underwent adjuvant treatment with 3 cycles of topotecan and has remained free of disease during the 4 years of follow-up.
Conclusions: In selected cases with isolated recurrences, a surgical resection may provide a long term complete remission in recurrent cervical cancer patients.