Reproductive and obstetric outcomes after radical abdominal trachelectomy for early-stage cervical cancer in a series of 31 pregnancies

Study question: What are the reproductive and obstetric outcomes in patients undergoing radical abdominal trachelectomy (RAT) for early-stage cervical cancer?

Summary answer: When RAT was performed before a pregnancy achieved with fertility treatments, pregnancy rate of 36.2% was obtained and 71.4% of these women gave birth at ≥ 32 weeks of gestation.

What is known already: Reproductive and obstetric outcomes after radical vaginal trachelectomy (RVT) are well documented; however, these outcomes after RAT have not been well studied.

Study design, size, duration: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients at a single institution who underwent RAT and became pregnant. Reproductive and obstetric outcomes of 114 patients who had undergone RAT from September 2002 to December 2010 were investigated.

Participants/material, setting, methods: Women of reproductive age with early-stage cervical cancer who wished to preserve their fertility were documented.

Main results and the role of chance: Patients' median age was 33 years (25-40 years). A total of 31 pregnancies were achieved in 25 patients and 6 patients had 2 pregnancies. Eighteen of 25 patients (72.0%) had infertility problems; 17 patients conceived with IVF-embryo transfer and 1 patient with intrauterine insemination. The pregnancy rate among patients who wished to conceive was 36.2% (25/69). Among 31 pregnancies in 25 patients, 4 patients had first trimester miscarriage and 1 patient had second trimester miscarriage. Excluding the five patients who miscarried and the five ongoing pregnancies, all the 21 patients had deliveries by Cesarean section. Four patients had a preterm birth in the second trimester and 17 patients delivered in the third trimester. Of the 17 pregnancies that reached the third trimester, 2 (11.8%) were preterm births between 29 and 32 weeks, 11 (64.7%) were delivered between 32 and 37 weeks and 4 (23.5%) at ≥ 37 weeks of gestation.

Limitations, reasons for caution: Because of the retrospective data collection, not all pregnancies may have been recorded.

Wider implications of the findings: Prospective multicenter studies are needed to determine if the results shown in this retrospective cohort can be generalized to all patients with early-stage cervical cancer who wish to undergo the fertility-sparing RAT procedure.