Prognostic factors in women with early stage small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.
Small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix (SCCUC) is an uncommon, aggressive disease accounting for less than 5% of all cervical cancers. Due to its rarity, definitive treatment strategies have not been developed. Our aim was to analyze the clinical factors, treatment modalities, sites of relapse, and overall survival of women with early stage SCCUC and thus determine prognostic factors. The clinical records of 18 women diagnosed with stage IB1 to IIA SCCUC were reviewed, and patient characteristics and treatment modalities were analyzed to determine the prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). DFS and OS were 39% and 44% at 2 years. Lymph node metastasis was a significant prognostic factor of DFS. International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and lymph node metastasis were significant prognostic factors of OS as determined by multivariate analysis (p < 0.05). Radical hysterectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy resulted in higher 2-year survival rates compared to radical hysterectomy followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (62.5% vs. 16.7%); however, the difference was not statistically significant due to the small sample size. FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis are significant indicators of OS in patients with early stage SCCUC. Further larger scale analysis is warranted to determine whether adjuvant chemotherapy may facilitate a better prognosis than adjuvant radiotherapy.
Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. cyhuang999@ntu.edu.tw
Chao-Yuan
CY
Huang
Yu-Li
YL
Chen
Tieh-Chi
TC
Chu
Wen-Fang
WF
Cheng
Chang-Yao
CY
Hsieh
Ming-Chieh
MC
Lin
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery