Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients With Early Stages Cervical Cancer

Patients will be enrolled in the study at the time of surgery planning; at this point, a patient´s consent will be requested if inclusion criteria are fulfilled (histological type, FIGO stage, age, performance status, lymph node clinical status). The following procedures will be provided prior to surgery: clinical staging (MRI or EUS), medical data collection, adverse events assessment, lymphedema assessment, quality of life questionnaire, ECOG performance status, weight and height, standard pre-operative laboratory workup, pregnancy test if clinically indicated.

Surgery should be done within 6 weeks of the imaging study (MRI or expert US). During the surgery, local or distant cancer spread outside of the cervix will be excluded, SLN will be detected, and all SLN will be sent for intra-operative pathologic evaluation. In patients with SLN detection on both sides of the pelvis no other lymph nodes will be removed and they will continue in the study. SLN biopsy will be followed by radical hysterectomy (type B, C1, or C2) or fertility-sparing procedure, according to the pre-operative plan.

Intra-operatively, three groups of patient will be excluded from the SLN study group (though they can be included in the control group):

1. Patients with intra-operative detection of more advanced disease stage (> IB1)

2. Patients with failure to detect SLN bilaterally (either no SLN detected or only on one side of the pelvis)

3. Patients with intra-operative pathologic detection of macrometastases or micrometastases in SLN

In these patients who were excluded from the study group, further surgery and adjuvant treatment will be provided according to the institutional guidelines. These patients will remain in a database and reasons for their exclusion from the SLN study group will be entered into the SIS (Form 2).

A control group will be established to compare postoperative morbidity in patients after SLN biopsy only and after complete pelvic lymphadenectomy. Patients in whom complete lymphadenectomy was performed at least on one side of the pelvis will be eligible for the control group.

In patients, who continue in the study, all SLNs will be processed by pathologists according to the protocol for SLN ultrastaging (Chapter 7.4.2; Appendix 11). If macrometastases or micrometastases or isolated tumor cells are detected in any of the SLNs by pathologic ultrastaging after the surgery, adjuvant radiotherapy will be recommended to the patient. No adjuvant treatment will be offered to those with negative final lymph node status, confirmed pre-operative disease FIGO stage (IA1 - IB1), and adequately performed radical hysterectomy with negative parametrial and vaginal margins.

Follow-up will consist of visits at regular intervals of 6 months after the surgery (additional visits in shorter intervals can be scheduled according to institutional guidelines). The following procedures will be provided at each visit during the follow-up period: pelvic examination, symptomatic lymphocele assessment, quality of life assessment (6 and 12 months after the surgery), adverse events assessment, and secondary lower extremity lymphedema assessment (maximum 6 years after surgery in SLN group, 4 years in Control group). Other imaging studies will be done only if clinically indicated. Any postoperative complication or disease recurrence will be managed according to the institutional guidelines.

Outcomes after fertility sparing procedures in selected centres with be collected (i.e. morbidity after cervical procedure or ovarian transposition, treatment of infertility, pregnancy rates and complications).