Background: Our aim was to study the prognostic value of the presence of lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) in patients with stage IB and II cervical carcinoma treated by initial surgery.
Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 193 patients who underwent, between 1985 and 1998, an initial radical hysterectomy with pelvic (+/- para-aortic) lymphadenectomy using midline laparotomy for stage IB (180 patients) or II (13 patients) cervical carcinoma. Postoperative therapy was delivered according to prognostic factors.
Results: The rate of LVSI correlated significantly with tumor stage, nodal status and the location of positive nodes. Using univariate analysis, tumor size (<4 or >/= 4 cm), LVS status and nodal status were prognostic factors. At multivariate analysis, two prognostic factors were identified: LVS status and nodal status. In a subgroup of 89 patients with a small tumor (</=2 cm) and absence of nodal or isthmic involvement, the overall survival was significantly correlated with the presence of LVSI.
Conclusions: LVSI is a frequent occurrence in patients with early stage cervical cancer. It represents an unfavorable prognostic factor in univariate and multivariate analyses. Such results suggest that improvement is needed in the treatment of patients with a small tumor and LVS invasion.