Parametrial involvement in radical hysterectomy specimens for women with early-stage cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence of parametrial involvement and to evaluate factors associated with parametrial spread in women with early-stage cervical cancer and to identify a cohort of patients at low risk for parametrial spread who may benefit from less radical surgery.

METHODS: We reviewed all patients who underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy for invasive cervical cancer between 1990 and 2006. All women with squamous, adenocarcinoma, or adenosquamous disease, stage IA2-IB1, who underwent completed radical hysterectomy were included in the analysis. Normally distributed continuous variables were compared using Student's t-test for independent samples to analyze the outcome of positive or negative parametrial involvement.

RESULTS: Three hundred fifty patients met the inclusion criteria. Overall, 27 women (7.7%) had parametrial involvement. The majority of specimens with parametrial involvement (52%) had tumor spread through direct microscopic extension. Patients with parametrial involvement were more likely to have a primary tumor size larger than 2 cm (larger than 2 cm: 14%, smaller than 2 cm: 4%, P=.001), higher histologic grade (grade 3: 12%, grades 1 and 2: 3%, P=.01), lymphovascular space invasion (positive: 12%, negative: 3%, P=.002), and metastasis to the pelvic lymph nodes (positive: 31%, negative: 4%, P<.001). One hundred twenty-five women (36%) had squamous, adenocarcinoma, or adenosquamous lesions, all grades, with primary tumor size 2 cm or smaller and no lymphovascular space invasion. In this group of patients, there was no pathologic evidence of parametrial involvement.

CONCLUSION: We were able to retrospectively identify a cohort of women with early-stage cervical cancer who were at very low risk for parametrial involvement. If prospective application of these findings confirms our results, less radical surgery-such as simple hysterectomy, simple trachelectomy, or conization-with pelvic lymphadenectomy may be a reasonable therapeutic option for women with primary tumors 2 cm or smaller and no lymphovascular space invasion.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.