title: Fertility-preserving options for cervical cancer.
abstract: Childbearing is one of the most important life goals for many women, and fertility preservation is a very important factor in the overall quality of life of cancer survivors. Cervical cancer frequently affects young women; because some women tend to delay childbearing, fertility preservation must be considered when treatment options are discussed. Over the past decade, the radical trachelectomy procedure has become a well established fertility-preserving option for young women with early-stage cancer; this procedure is associated with low morbidity, good oncologic outcome, and a high proportion of pregnancies that reach the third trimester and babies that are delivered at term. This article will review available literature on the vaginal radical trachelectomy procedure and data from other surgical approaches, such as the abdominal radical trachelectomy. In addition, the potential future application of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by fertility-preserving surgery in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer will be examined. Finally, ultraconservative surgical approaches (eg, conization alone with or without laparoscopic lymphadenectomy) in very early-stage disease will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Gynecologic Oncology Service, Laval University, Quebec, Canada. marie.plante@crhdq.ulaval.ca
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Plante
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roy
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D019092:Conization; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic / Q000628:therapy*; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014621:Vagina / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents