RADICAL HYSTERECTOMY FOR STAGE IB CERVICAL-CANCER - RECURRENCE INTERVAL AS A PREDICTOR OF SURVIVAL

Two hundred patients with stage IB carcinoma of the cervix were treate d with radical hysterectomy. We evaluated the impact of recurrence int erval on survival and determined its relationship to other prognostic factors. Thirty-one patients (15.5%) had recurrence, with a median fol low-up of 2.8 years (range, 1 to 5 years). Multivariate analysis, usin g the Cox proportional hazard regression model, showed the impact of r ecurrence interval on survival and its relationship to other prognosti c factors. patients were 19 times more likely to die during follow-up if recurrence occurred shortly after the operation. However, the risk of death from recurrence decreased exponentially as recurrence interva l increased, by a multiple of 0.93(m) where m is recurrence interval i n months. We conclude that in patients with stage IB carcinoma of the cervix treated initially with radical hysterectomy, the shorter the re currence period after operation, the greater the likelihood the patien t would die during 5-year follow-up. This information may help clinici ans determine a patient's prognosis after confirmed recurrence.