The Feasibility of Large Conization as a Fertility-Sparing Treatment in Young Women with Early-Stage Cervical Cancer

Among the cancers affecting women of all age groups, cervical cancer (CCa) is fourth most prevalent globally. Improved screening programs have aided the early detection of cervical cancer in young women seeking fertility. In this issue of Reproductive Sciences, Tsaousidis et al. retrospectively analyzed the use of large conization (LC) in 23 patients with early-stage CCa (9 stage IA and 14 stage IB). The authors chose 4 different domains to report outcomes of interest: surgical, oncological, fertility, and obstetric. Overall, the authors reported good outcomes after LC with a median follow-up of 58 months. We briefly reviewed the literature for similar studies reporting on fertility-preserving treatments for CCa. In addition, a brief note on the possible role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was added. Future research on fertility-preserving treatment must accurately report inclusion criteria to better delineate the indications for it: good surgical outcomes require good patient selection.