Management of early-stage cervical cancer: a literature review

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 1 - 17
• Main Authors: Guimarães, Yasmin Medeiros, Godoy, Luani Rezende, Longatto, Adhemar, Reis, Ricardo dos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) 24-01-2022; MDPI AG; MDPI
• Subjects: Biopsy; Cellular biology; Cervical cancer; Cervix; Developing countries; Diagnosis and staging; Disease management; Disease prevention; Fertility sparing; High income; Human papillomavirus; Hysterectomy; Immunization; LDCs; Literature reviews; Lymph nodes; Lymphatic system; Medical prognosis; Medical screening; Metastasis; Morbidity; Mortality; Patients; Preservation; Public health; Radiation therapy; Radical surgery; Review; Science & Technology; Sentinel lymph node; Surgery; Tomography; Tumors; Uterus; Vagina; United States > US; sentinel lymph node; radical surgery; cervical cancer; diagnosis and staging; fertility sparing
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers14030575

Cervical cancer (CC) remains a public health issue worldwide despite preventive measures. Surgical treatment in the early-stage CC has evolved during the last decades. Our aim was to review the advances in the literature and summarize the ongoing studies on this topic. To this end, we conducted a literature review through PubMed focusing on English-language articles on the surgical management of early-stage CC. The emergent topics considered here are the FIGO 2018 staging system update, conservative management with less radical procedures for selected patients, lymph node staging, fertility preservation, preferred surgical approach, management of tumors up to 2 cm, and prognosis. In terms of updating FIGO, we highlight the inclusion of lymph node status on staging and the possibility of imaging. Regarding the preferred surgical approach, we emphasize the LACC trial impact worldwide in favor of open surgery; however, we discuss the controversial application of this for tumors < 2 cm. In summary, all topics show a tendency to provide patients with tailored treatment that avoids morbidity while maintaining oncologic safety, which is already possible in high-income countries. We believe that efforts should focus on making this a reality for low-income countries as well.