Individualization of surgical management of cervical cancer stages IA1, IA2

To evaluate the risk of involvement of sentinel lymph nodes in cervical cancer stage IA1 with lymphovascular space invasion and IA2 using the detection of sentinel lymph nodes.

Original article.

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Faculty Hospital Královské Vinohrady, Prague; Oncogynecological centrum; Department of Pathology 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Faculty Hospital Kralovské Vinohrady, Prague.

The study included women from prospective protocols LAP I and LAP II with cervical cancer stage IA1 with lymphovascular space invasion and stage IA2 from 2002 to 2018 classified according to FIGO 2014 staging, TNM 8. Detection of sentinel lymph nodes throughout this period was performed using ultra-short protocol with Tc and patent blau and also by histopathological examination.

In the first group (28 women) with stage IA1 and lymphovascular space invasion diagnosed from cone biopsy there were two women with positive lymph nodes (7.1%). In the group stage IA2 (34 women) there were 13 women (38.2%) with positive lymphovascular space invasion and two women had positive lymph nodes (5.9%). The risk of positive lymph nodes for stage IA1 with lymphovascular space invasion and for stage IA2 is not statistically significant OR = 0.8125 (95% CI 0.1070-6.172).

The detection of sentinel lymph nodes aids to individualize the therapy of early stage cervical cancer and helps to reduce the radicalization of surgery. The risk of positive lymph nodes in stage IA1 with lymphovascular space invasion and stage IA2 with/without lymphovascular space invasion is the same. The results confirm, that the detection of sentinel lymph nodes in stage IA1 with lymphovascular space invasion is fully indicated.