title: A fertility-sparing alternative to radical hysterectomy: how many patients may be eligible?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the percentage of patients with early-stage cervical cancer who may be eligible for fertility preservation with laparoscopic radical vaginal trachelectomy (LRVT).
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent a radical hysterectomy for invasive cervical cancer at our institution from 12/85 to 8/01, before our use of LRVT at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Institutional eligibility criteria for LRVT were applied. Patients > or =40 years of age were considered ineligible.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 435 patients who had undergone radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer; 186 were age < 40 at surgery and constituted our study population. Eighty-nine (48%) patients may have been eligible by our pathologic criteria. In 12 patients, LRVT may have been aborted or altered because of unexpected disease spread.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A significant number of patients < 40 with early-stage cervical cancer may be pathologically eligible for LRVT and should be counseled on this preoperatively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Gynecology Service Acadenic Office, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA. gynbreast@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sonoda
authors.forename: Nadeem R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Abu-Rustum
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gemignani
authors.forename: Dennis S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Carol L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Poynor
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Barakat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*