Objective: To determine the role of radiation therapy following radical surgery in patients with cervical cancer.
Method: A total of 104 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IB to IIB cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection at Tottori University Hospital between 1988 and 1994 were entered in this study. The criteria for postoperative radiotherapy included positive lymph node involvement, compromised surgical margin, parametrial extension, or deep stromal invasion of cervix with less than 3 mm of distance from serosa. Postoperative radiotherapy consisted of 10-20 Gy whole pelvis and an additional parametrial dose with a midline block to deliver a total of 44-50 Gy to the pelvic side wall.
Results: Sixty-two patients (59.6%) who met the criteria received postoperative radiotherapy. Lymph node metastasis was most frequent in stage IIB followed by stage IIA and then stage IB (36.7, 22.2, and 10.7%, respectively). Parametrial extension was observed 8.7% of patients with stage IB and 27.7% of those with stage IIA. The estimated 5-year survival rate for patients undergoing surgery alone was 97.6% and that for patients receiving postoperative radiotherapy was 82.7% (P = 0.038). Multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis and parametrial extension were major prognostic factor, but the survival rate did not relate to depth of stromal invasion.
Conclusion: Postoperative radiotherapy may improve the survival of patients with cervical cancer exhibiting lymph node metastasis or parametrial extension.