Prognostic significance of positive lymph node number in early cervical cancer

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the number of metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) is an independent prognostic factor for early cervical cancer. The medical records of 163 stage IB-IIA cervical cancer patients, treated with radical hysterectomy with accompanying pelvic and/or para-aortic lymphadenectomy between 1999 and 2007, were retrospectively reviewed. All prognostic factors identified as being significant in the univariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model. Of the 156 patients included in our analysis, 27 had LN metastasis, of whom 14 patients had 1 positive node and 13 patients had ≥2 positive nodes. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 92.9 and 87.2%, respectively. In terms of OS, tumour stage (P=0.002) and the number of positive LNs (P=0.021) were identified as significant prognostic factors. In terms of PFS, tumour stage (P=0.049) was identified as a significant prognostic factor. In conclusion, the number of LN metastases is an independent risk factor for poorer survival outcomes in patients with cervical cancer.