Two new studies indicate women who receive minimally invasive surgery for cervical cancer are more likely to have signs of recurrent cervical cancer within three years.

Because of their smaller incisions and faster recovery time, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery has become a popular choice for women who need hysterectomies or partial hysterectomies. For women diagnosed with cervical cancer, though, the regular open surgery appears to be a safer choice. However, many are not aware of the signs of recurrent cervical cancer.

According to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The New England Journal of Medicine published the study results in late October. Dr. Pedro T. Ramirez, a gynecological cancer specialist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, was the lead author of a prospective study of 631 women who received early-stage cervical cancer surgery between 2008 and 2017.

A second study of 2,461 women who received radical hysterectomies between 2010 and 2013 was also looked at through a retrospective analysis.

Women who received minimally invasive surgery were found to die from cervical cancer within four years 65 percent more often than women who received open surgery to tackle the cancer. The minimally invasive surgery recipients also were four times more likely to have signs of recurrent cervical cancer return in the three years following the minimally invasive procedure.

Researchers are unsure why patients who undergo a minimally invasive surgery have a higher rate of the cervical cancer returning. Doctors have been using minimally invasive procedures successfully since 2006 for patients suffering from uterine cancer. They expected similar success with patients suffering from cervical cancer.

Even though both cervical cancer and uterine cancer are gynecological cancers, they are different. With uterine cancer, only the uterus needs to be removed. If a doctor determines the patient’s ovaries and cervix are in good health, the patient is often told it’s best to keep those organs intact.

Ovaries produce estrogen, which can keep the patient from abruptly going into menopause. The cervix is made of strong muscles that help keep the bladder and other organs in their appropriate places.

Cervical cancer might recur because the medical instrument used in the initial minimally invasive surgery retains cancerous cells that are deposited as the instrument is removed from the body. In other cases, doctors theorize that the minimally invasive procedure simply does not allow one hundred percent of the cancerous cells to be removed.

Any cells left behind slowly continue to grow until the patient may see a return of her cancer.

Be Aware of Signs of Recurrent Cervical Cancer

Patients who have undergone minimally invasive procedures for cervical cancer should be aware of the signs.

Although symptoms can appear differently depending upon the patient, there are some signs of cervical cancer that should not be ignored. These include:

• Bleeding between periods, after sexual relations or after menopause
• Heavy periods that last longer than normal
• Water, pink or foul-smelling discharge
• Pain in the pelvis or pain during intercourse
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Back pain
• Leg pain or leg swelling
• Urine leaking
• Persistent bone pain

Signs of recurrent cervical cancer often appear within two years of initial treatment, which might not only have included surgery, but also radiation and chemotherapy.

Join a Free Cervical Cancer after Hysterectomy Lawsuit Investigation

If your cervical cancer progressed after laparoscopic radical hysterectomy, or if your loved one died after such surgery, you may have a legal claim. See if you qualify to file a cervical cancer after hysterectomy lawsuit by filling out the form on this page now.

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