Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Carcinoma of the uterine cervix is the sixth most common malignant neoplasm in women. Early stage diagnosis of uterine cervix carcinoma increases the cure rate of disease. Radiotherapy, with or without concurrent chemotherapy, is one of the most effective treatment modality in cervical carcinoma. After radiotherapy, accurate and regular follow-up results in early diagnosis and effective treatment of recurrence. The aim of this study is the assessment of the pathologic characteristics, setting and indications for postoperative radiotherapy and outcome of patients at the last follow-up.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we evaluated 346 cases of cervical carcinoma had received radiotherapy in radiation oncology department of the Cancer Institute of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from 1995 to 2001.

Results: The age of the study group ranged from 26 to 78 years (mean=50.5, SD=11). Of these patients, 30.4% were in the early stage and 69.6% had advanced stage disease. Squamous cell carcinoma comprised 92.2% of the cases and 6.4% adenocarcinoma. Radical radiotherapy was the most frequent radiotherapy setting and adjuvant radiotherapy (post-op) was the second. A considerable number of patients did not come back for follow-up, and 43.7% were followed for a short time.

Conclusion: Accurate presurgical clinical staging and surgical treatment by an expert gynecologic oncologist can reduce expose the patients to risks of two modality treatments (surgery and radiotherapy). According to our results, patients do not pay enough attention to disease follow-up. An acceptable training plan with emphasis on regular follow-up, is recommended.