Abstract

Introduction Cervical cancer is the third-leading cause of death from cancer in Brazilian female population. Treatment depends on the clinical stage of the disease according to the classification of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). Radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy, the "Wertheim-Meigs" surgery, is a key intervention for tumors restricted to the cervix. Methods This retrospective study aimed to compare clinical and pathologic data on two historical series (2001-2007 and 2011-2014) of 142 patients submitted to Wertheim-Meigs surgery. The medical records were reviewed with special emphasis on clinical findings and pathological features. Results The clinical profile of these patients, such as age (average age of 48), parity (average of 4 children), and smoking (21% of patients were smokers) remained similar. Regarding pathological data, there was an increasing prevalence of adenocarcinoma compared to squamous cell carcinoma. In the two series presented and excluding other rare histologies, the percentage of CEC fell from 87.3% to 71.4% (p = 0.045). Pelvic lymph node metastasis raised from 7.2% to 20.3% on the latest series (p = 0.040). Histological grade and stromal invasion remained stable in both series. Other variables as average tumor size (> 2 cm or > 4 cm) and lymphovascular invasion showed small differences between the two groups evaluated, without statistical significance. Conclusion Was observed an increase of adenocarcinomas and positive pelvic lymph nodes in the comparison of the two historical series. Although lymphovascular invasion, tumor size and deep stromal invasion are also important prognostic indicators, it did not show significant growth. We present an introduction to this subject of how two historical series of the same service are substantially different in terms of variables, approached in such a short time difference of only four years between them.

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