Abstract
Background: The incidence of cervical cancer in young women is rising, and squamous cell carcinoma makes up a great percentage of the histological types. The presence of aggressive pathologic risk factors following patients’ primary surgery may warrant the use of adjuvant radiotherapy. It is important to weigh up the risks and benefits of using adjuvant radiotherapy for each young patient so as to maximize their prognosis while minimizing the treatment-related morbidity. Methods: A retrospective study was performed. It consisted of 97 patients under 35 years old who were diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma and underwent treatment at West China Second University Hospital between December 2009 and January 2014. Five-year follow-up, prognostic risks, long-term radiation toxicity, female sexual function, and quality of life were investigated. Results: Adjuvant radiotherapy did improve the prognosis of young patients with lymph node metastases. However, there were few significant differences in progress-free survival and overall survival for the young patients without lymph node metastases following adjuvant radiotherapy. Besides, young patients who took radiotherapy exhibited greater intestinal dysfunction, more severe lower extremities edema, greater sexual dysfunction, and worse long-term quality of life. Conclusion: Young patients with early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma without lymph node metastases who have undergone the primary surgery should be counseled in detail before the decision to use adjuvant radiotherapy can be made. The counseling should emphasize not only the benefit that local recurrence rates can be reduced, but also the risks that treatment-related side effects could increase and lower QoL could occur.
Highlights
The incidence of cervical cancer in young women is rising, and squamous cell carcinoma makes up a great percentage of the histological types
A total of 191 patients under 35 years old had been diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and underwent treatment at our department between December 2009 and January 2014. 107 patients (10 patients lost to follow-up) were confirmed to present one or more pathologic risk factors after the primary surgery and were informed to take adjuvant RT. 23 patients out of them declined the following therapy
No significant differences in tumor differentiation, size, and pathologic risk factors were found between the two groups
Summary
The incidence of cervical cancer in young women is rising, and squamous cell carcinoma makes up a great percentage of the histological types. It is important to weigh up the risks and benefits of using adjuvant radiotherapy for each young patient so as to maximize their prognosis while minimizing the treatment-related morbidity. It consisted of 97 patients under 35 years old who were diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma and underwent treatment at West China Second University Hospital between December 2009 and January 2014. Results: Adjuvant radiotherapy did improve the prognosis of young patients with lymph node metastases. Young patients who took radiotherapy exhibited greater intestinal dysfunction, more severe lower extremities edema, greater sexual dysfunction, and worse long-term quality of life. Conclusion: Young patients with early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma without lymph node metastases who have undergone the primary surgery should be counseled in detail before the decision to use adjuvant radiotherapy can be made. The counseling should emphasize the benefit that local recurrence rates can be reduced, and the risks that treatment-related side effects could increase and lower QoL could occur
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
