title: Prognostic factors in stage IA-IIA cervical cancer patients treated surgically: does the waiting time to the operation affect survival?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to identify prognostic factors in patients with stage IA-IIA cervical cancer who had undergone radical surgery and clarify whether the waiting time to the operation affected the recurrence and survival outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the records of 117 patients who underwent surgical resection for stage IA-IIA cervical cancer. Patients were subdivided based on the waiting time from the initial visit to a gynecologist until surgery. Univariate analyses were performed to evaluate factors associated with recurrence-free and overall survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean time from the first visit to surgery was 48 days (range 20-92). Recurrence-free and overall survival rates were not affected by the waiting time to the operation. On univariate analysis, lymph node metastasis (p = 0.003) and lymph-vascular space invasion (p = 0.015) were prognostic predictors of progression-free survival, while the waiting time to the operation was not (p = 0.106). Lymph node metastasis (p = 0.007), lymph-vascular space invasion (p = 0.046), and the histological diagnosis (p = 0.027) were prognostic predictors of overall survival, but the waiting time to the operation was not (p = 0.653).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The waiting time to the operation from the initial visit to surgical intervention does not adversely affect the outcome of cervical cancer within the time frames analyzed in this study. Furthermore, surgery allows the status of the lymph nodes and lymph-vascular space invasion, dependent variables associated with survival, to be assessed accurately.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsurumai-cho 65, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan. t-ume@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors: Tomokazu
authors: T
authors: Umezu
authors: Kiyosumi
authors: K
authors: Shibata
authors: Hiroaki
authors: H
authors: Kajiyama
authors: Eiko
authors: E
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Mizuno
authors: Fumitaka
authors: F
authors: Kikkawa
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D018196:Carcinoma, Adenosquamous / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult