The value of complete lymphadenectomy in radical treatment of cancer of the cervix, stage IB

Abstract

Two hundred ninety‐three patients with Stage IB carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated by intracavitary irradiation followed by radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection in the 3‐year period 1970 to 1972, inclusive. Preoperative lymphography was performed and intraoperative films were taken to obtain a lymphadenectomy that was as complete as possible. The number and location of remaining nodes were determined by postoperative films. No patients were lost to follow‐up. The 5‐ and 10‐year survival and recurrence rates were correlated to the number of remaining nodes. It is concluded that patients with four or more remaining nodes have a possible inferior prognosis compared with the rest of the patients. Meticulous and time‐consuming search for a few remaining nodes was, however, not found to be justified.