Radical trachelectomy for early stage cervical cancer: A case series and literature review

Abstract

Objective: Radical trachelectomy (RT) is an alternative treatment for preserving fertility in patients with cervical cancer. Because women with operable cervical cancer opting for fertility preservation are scarce, few cases have been reported in Taiwan. Here we report our cases series. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated seven patients who underwent vaginal RT and three patients who underwent abdominal RT in a single medical institute for a median follow-up period of 5 years. Results: The oncological outcome was highly satisfactory. All patients survived and are currently disease-free, except for two who had recurrence and received additional concurrent chemoradiation therapy. Other complications included urinary tract infection, cervical stenosis, and unilateral hydronephrosis. All complications were manageable with little long-term effects. However, no pregnancy was observed during the 5-year follow-up period. Conclusion: RT is considered a complicated surgical procedure among gynecological operations. Here we review the literature and describe several factors associated with higher pregnancy rates.

Keywords

• cervical cancer
• fertility
• radical operation
• trachelectomy