To estimate whether adjuvant radiotherapy is necessary for patients with stage IA1-IIA1
cervical cancer after laparoscopic hysterectomy, 221 patients were retrospectively
analyzed. Sixty-two of them were treated with laparoscopic hysterectomy and adjuvant
radiotherapy (group A), 115 underwent open surgery (group B) and 44 received
laparoscopic hysterectomy alone (group C). Results showed that the 3-year local
recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rates of group A, B and C were 98.4%, 97.4% and
86.4%, respectively. The LRFS rates of group A and B surpassed C (A vs. B, p=0.634; A
vs. C, p=0.011; B vs. C, p=0.006). The inter-group differences of 3-year overall survival
(OS) and distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) were not statistically signifificant. In
subgroup analysis of stage IB disease, the 3-year LRFS rates of group A, B and C
were 100%, 98.8% and 83.1%, the 3-year OS rates of group A, B and C were 100%,
98.9% and 91.5%, respectively. The 3-year LRFS and OS rates of group A and B were
signifificantly superior to group C (p<0.05). Our fifindings suggest that adjuvant radiotherapy
can reduce the risk of recurrence for women with early-stage cervical cancer after
laparoscopic hysterectomy and bring survival benefifits for patients with stage IB disease.
