Predictors of high-grade residual disease after repeat conization in patients with positive surgical margins.

Abstract

No consensus exists on the subsequent management strategy of patients who exhibit positive surgical margin (PSM) after re-excision of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The aim of the study is to examine the predictors related to the persistence of high-grade CIN lesions after re-excision, where PSM was left behind. The present retrospective study included patients with PSM who underwent repeated conization due to residual high-grade CIN lesions between January 2005 and December 2019. The SPSS software v20.0 was used for data interpretation and statistical analysis. P values less than 0.05 were accepted as statistically significant. Repeat conization was performed in 91 patients, 43 (47.3%) presented with PSM with high-grade CIN, 6 (6.5%) presented with micro-invasive carcinoma, and 42 (46.2%) presented with clear surgical margin or CIN 1 at the surgical margin. At the time of conization, patients who presented with lesions > 5 mm in repeat cone specimens, exhibited a significantly higher rate of residual disease (p < 0.001). Besides, the involvement of the endocervical margin with high-grade CIN was the predictor of residual disease in repeat cone specimens (p = 0.006). In the cone specimen, the presence of lesion size greater than 5 mm and involvement of the endocervical margin were the predictors of high-grade residual disease after re-excision. Whether it is the first or second procedure, great care must be given to excise the lesion entirely at the time of the conization, preferably in one piece.