No abstract

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Cervical cancer is a preventable disease with a known etiology (human papillomavirus), effective preventive vaccines, excellent screening methods, and a treatable pre-invasive phase. Surgery is the primary treatment for pre-invasive and early-stage disease and can safely be performed in many low-resource settings. However, cervical cancer rates remain high in many areas of Latin America. This article presents a number of evidence-based strategies being implemented to improve cervical cancer outcomes in Latin America.

No abstract

Background: The management of cervical cancer patients with intraoperative detection of lymph node involvement remains controversial. Since all these patients are referred for (chemo)radiation after the surgery, the key decision is whether radical hysterectomy should be completed as originally planned, taking into account an additional morbidity associated with extensive surgical dissection prior to adjuvant treatment. The ABRAX study investigated whether completing a radical uterine procedure is associated with an improved oncological outcome of such patients. Patients and methods: We performed retrospective analyses of 515 cervical cancer patients (51 institutions, 19 countries) who were referred for primary curative surgery between 2005 and 2015 (stage IAeIIB, common tumour types) in whom lymph node involvement was detected intraoperatively. Patients were stratified according to whether the planned uterine surgery was completed (COMPL group, N Z 361) or abandoned (ABAND group, N Z 154) to compare progression-free survival. Definitive chemoradiation was given to 92.9% patients in the ABAND group and adjuvant (chemo)radiation or chemotherapy to 91.4% of patients in the COMPL group. Results: The risks of recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] 1.154, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.799 e1.666, P Z 0.45), pelvic recurrence (HR 0.836, 95% CI 0.458e1.523, P Z 0.56), or death (HR 1.064, 95% CI 0.690e1.641, P Z 0.78) were not significantly different between the two groups. No subgroup showed a survival benefit from completing radical hysterectomy. Disease-free survival reached 74% (381/515), with a median follow-up of 58 months. Prognostic factors were balanced between the two groups. FIGO stage and number of pelvic lymph nodes involved were significant prognostic factors in the whole study cohort. Conclusion:We showed that the completion of radical hysterectomy does not improve survival in patients with intraoperatively detected lymph node involvement, regardless of tumour size or histological type. If lymph node involvement is confirmed intraoperatively, abandoning uterine radical procedure should be considered, and the patient should be referred for definitive chemoradiation. Clinical trials identifier: NCT04037124.