Treatment and outcome of stage Ia1 squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix

ObjectiveTo evaluate the treatment and clinical outcome of patients with FIGO stage IA1 cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).MethodsMedical records, including 5-year follow-up, were reviewed for 276 patients with stage IA1 SCC.ResultsAs definitive surgery, 152 (55.1%), 72 (26.1%), 40 (14.5%), and 12 (4.3%) patients underwent conization, hysterectomy, hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy (PL), and radical hysterectomy with PL, respectively.Among these groups, the 5-year recurrence-free rate was 94.1%, 98.6%, 95%, and 100%, respectively, and the survival rate was 98.7%, 98.6%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Recurrent disease was identified among 12 (4.3%) patients, and was related to the depth of invasion (P < 0.001). Eleven (4.0%) of 276 patients were found to have lymph vascular space invasion (LVSI). There were no positive lymph nodes among 52 patients who underwent PL, including those with LVSI. Conization was followed by hysterectomy in 49 patients. In these patients, residual intraepithelial neoplasia was found in 18 women, 3 of whom had no involved margins on previous conization. In the group of patients treated by conization, recurrence correlated with the status of the endocervical and lateral cone margin (P < 0.001).ConclusionAs a conservative approach, conization is an effective and reasonable treatment option for stage IA1 SCC, especially in actively reproductive women.