Comparison of oncologic outcomes of unanticipated cervical carcinoma in women undergoing inadvertent simple hysterectomy and those undergoing surgical treatment after preoperative diagnosis

Objectives: To determine the proportion of women with undiagnosed cervical carcinoma before simple hysterectomy and its causes and to compare the oncologic outcomes of women diagnosed and treated with standard therapy to those undergoing inadvertent simple hysterectomy with subsequent treatment.

Methods: Medical records were reviewed for patients with cervical carcinoma who underwent hysterectomy between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2014. Demographic data, chemotherapeutic agents, and response rates were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The categorical variables were compared using chi-square or Fisher's exact test. The continuous data were compared using the independent t-test and Mann-Whitney test, as appropriate. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate the survival outcomes.

Results: Of the 526 patients with cervical carcinoma who underwent hysterectomy, 57 patients (10.8%) were diagnosed with cervical carcinoma after simple hysterectomy. After excluding 121 patients with invasion of <3 mm and without lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), 353 patients were preoperatively diagnosed with cervical carcinoma stage IA1 with LVSI to IIA and underwent proper surgical treatment. Fifty-two patients were encountered for inadvertent hysterectomy. Forty-four of 52 patients in the inadvertent hysterectomy group consented to subsequent treatment, with 43 patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy and one undergoing additional surgery. The median time before subsequent treatment initiation was 1.6 months [0.5-9.2 months]. The 5-year DFS rates of the standard surgical treatment group and inadvertent hysterectomy group were 88.4% vs. 93.2%, respectively (P = 0.147). The 5-year OS rates of the standard surgical treatment group and the inadvertent hysterectomy group were 98.9% vs. 100%, respectively (P = 0.767).

Conclusions: Women with cervical carcinoma who had small tumors and underwent inadvertent simple hysterectomy with appropriate consequent management had oncologic outcomes comparable to those in the standard surgical treatment group.