CERVICAL-CANCER IN YOUNG-WOMEN IN TAIWAN - PROGNOSIS IS INDEPENDENT OF PAPILLOMAVIRUS OR TUMOR-CELL TYPE

The objective of this study was to address the hypotheses that younger patients with cervical cancer have a uniquely worse clinical outcome and/or are more likely to have adverse tumor cell types or specific hu man papillomaviruses (HPV). Cases of stage Ib-IIa cervical cancer amon g women 35 years of age or younger (82) and over 35 (54) were analyzed and compared with respect to the following: (1) histologic type (squa mous vs nonsquamous), (2) human papillomavirus (HPV) type via polymera se chain reaction, and (3) clinical parameters, including tumor size, nodal metastases, and recurrence/persistence. Patients 35 years of age or younger had a survival similar (71.2% vs 72.4%) to that of older w omen from the same institution. In the younger group, outcome was not correlated with the presence or absence of HPV or HPV type. Nonsquamou s carcinomas, including adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma, were strongly associated with HPV18 were more prevalent in the younger grou p, and had a slightly higher risk of recurrence/persistence; however, these differences were not significant and 71% of the recurrences were squamous cell carcinomas. Thus, in young Taiwanese women with stage I b-IIa cervical cancer, the majority of deaths cannot be attributed to a specific HPV type or unique tumor morphology. (C) 1997 Academic Pres s