ObjectiveTo determine the incidence of lymph node metastasis in women with low-risk cervical cancer stage IA2 or IB1 (<2 cm) without lymph-vascular space invasion.MethodsA multicenter retrospective study was performed in patients who underwent radical or simple hysterectomy, conization, or trachelectomy plus pelvic lymphadenectomy for cervical cancer between January 2000 and June 2016.ResultsA total of 271 patients were included in the study. Median age and body mass index were 46 years (range, 23–77 years) and 24 kg/m2 (range, 18–48 kg/m2), respectively. Twenty-two patients had stage IA2 (8.1%), and 249 (91.9%) had stage IB1. The median tumor size was 14 mm (range, 5–20 mm). Tumor grades were 1 (n = 63 [23.2%]), 2 (n = 120 [44.3%]), 3 (n = 63 [23.2%]), and unknown (25 [9.2%]). Median depth stromal invasion was 6 mm (range, 3–20 mm). Histologic subtypes included squamous (n = 171 [63.1%]), adenocarcinoma (n = 92 [33.9%]), and adenosquamous (n = 8 [3.0%]). Overall incidence of lymph node metastasis was 2.9% (n = 8). The incidence of lymph node involvement in G1, G2, and G3 was 0% (0/63), 5% (6/120), and 3.1% (2/63), respectively. No patient with stage IA2 (regardless of grade or histology) or G1 cervical cancer less than 2 cm (stage IB1) had lymph node metastasis.ConclusionsPatients with stage IA2 or IB1 (G1) with tumor size of less than 2 cm and no lymph-vascular space invasion may not need lymph node evaluation. On the other hand, 95% and 98% of patients with grade 2 or 3 tumors, respectively, could potentially undergo an unnecessary lymphadenectomy. Further studies with bigger sample size are required to confirm these results.
Lymph-Vascular Space Invasion in Patients with Stages IA2-IIA2 Cervical Cancer Treated with Laparoscopic versus Open Radical Hysterectomy
