Abstract
BACKGROUND: Radical vaginal trachelectomy (RVT) is a fertility-preserving operation for young women who have cervical cancer in an early stage and want to have children. The demand for RVT is increasing, because more than 40% of all cases of cervical carcinoma affect women under the age of 44. Women are increasingly having their first child at later ages. METHODS: We present the results of RVT in more than 300 patients whom we operated on, review pertinent literature retrieved by a selective PubMed search, and evaluate treatment recommendations. RESULTS: The literature contains data on more than 1000 women treated with RVT and nearly 300 pregnancies after RVT. The 5-year recurrence and mortality rates are 2%-5% and 3%-6%, respectively. RVT is an oncologically safe treatment for women who want to have children. The main criteria for treatment with RVT are that the tumor should be no greater than 2 cm in diameter and that the lymph nodes should be histopathologically free of tumor tissue. The laparoscopic-vaginal technique is the best operative approach to assure a high rate of healing. Only one-third of all patients want to have children a short time after RVT. Their pregnancy rates resemble those of women in the general population. 50% of the children are born prematurely, mainly because of premature rupture of the membranes. Thus, pregnancies after RVT are considered high-risk pregnancies. CONCLUSION: As many as 48% of women with early-stage cervical carcinoma meet the criteria for RVT. RVT is an oncologically safe method that enables women with early-stage cervical carcinoma to become pregnant and have children. Pregnancy after RVT is associated with an elevated risk of preterm birth and should be managed according to standardized procedures.