Disease-free interval and recurrence pattern after the Okabayashi variant of Wertheim's radical hysterectomy for stage IB and IIA cervical carcinoma

Abstract

From January 1982 to December 1991 271 patients underwent radical hysterectomy according to the Okabayashi modification for cervical carcinoma stage IB and IIA. Intraoperative complications occurred in 3.3%. The urinary fistula rate was only 2.2%. The 5‐year Disease‐free Interval (DFI) was 90%. In a univariate analysis tumor size 3 cm (n = 99), positive pelvic nodes (n = 53), adenocarcinoma (n = 58) and parametrial involvement (n = 36) were all associated with a significantly decreased DFI. Recurrence occurred in 27 patients (10%) of whom 22 died of disease. In adenocarcinoma, DFI was poor when positive pelvic nodes were present. In squamous cell carcinoma however, DFI was not influenced by pelvic node status. In patients with squamous cell carcinoma the locoregional recurrence rate was 3.4% when pelvic nodes were negative, whereas in those with positive nodes it was 5.8%. These data show that the Okabayashi modification of Wertheim’s radical hysterectomy is a safe procedure resulting in very good locoregional tumor control, especially in patients with squamous cell cancer of the cervix.