The significance of postoperative radiotherapy in the treatment of cervical cancer

The significance of postoperative radiotherapy to the patients with carcinoma of the cervix, postoperative stage 1B with bulky growth of primary lesion or positive pelvic lymph node metastasis and stage 2 was evaluated. Four hundred and three patients underwent radical hysterectomy at the Hospital of Osaka City University between January 1971 and December 1992. Of these patients, 111 patients received postoperative radiotherapy. An average of 50 Gy of whole-pelvis radiotherapy was administered to each subject in the postoperative radiation group. Patients were categorized according to the postoperative clinical stage, pelvic lymph-node metastasis and size of their primary lesion. The utility of postoperative radiation therapy was analyzed according to the recurrence and survival rates. The postoperative radiotherapy was found to reduce the recurrence rate in group pT2, P4-5 of primary lesion and no pelvic lymph-node metastasis. However, no effect on the survival rate in this group was discerned. No increase in the survival rate was found in any group. In conclusion, postoperative radiotherapy for patients with cervical cancer was sustained until appearance of recurrence in consideration of side effect. (author)