Data shows that cervical cancer recurrence may be more common in cases of laparoscopic hysterectomy as opposed to open surgical methods.

In general, minimally invasive surgical methods are considered to be better than traditional open surgeries – especially in abdominal surgeries.

Whereas open surgeries have to cut through the abdominal wall and cause trauma to the area, laparoscopic techniques instead use tools inserted into the abdominal cavity through smaller incisions.

Researchers have noted that this trend holds true in the treatment of cervical cancer through a hysterectomy, with 60 percent of radical hysterectomy operations performed laparoscopically by 2013.

However, two studies published in October 2018 revealed that laparoscopic methods may increase the chance of cervical cancer recurrence – making women treated with minimally invasive hysterectomies 65 percent more likely to die within four years of their procedure.

Recurrence of cervical cancer occurs when cervical cancer is detected or returns following initial treatment of the disease with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or some combination of the three. The cervical cancer may spread to other parts of the body including the lungs, lymph nodes, and pelvis, where it is much more difficult to treat.

Unfortunately, recurrent cervical cancer occurs in around one-third of women, according to the Cancer Therapy Advisor. 80 percent of recurrences will reportedly occur within the first 2 years of initial diagnosis.

The two recent studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine shocked doctors and researchers when laparoscopic hysterectomies were associated with higher recurrence rates and mortality. Researcher J. Alejandro Rauh-Hain, who serves as an assistant professor of both gynecology oncology & reproductive medicine and health services research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, expected that the two surgical options to have similar results.

“We were very surprised when we got the results, and even more surprising was the fact that we got very similar findings in both studies,” Rauh-Hain told HemOnc Today. “We were pretty sure we were going to find that [minimally invasive surgery] was as safe as open surgery and that there wasn’t going to be any difference in the long-term outcomes.”

Doctors at the Cancer Center have reportedly stopped offering minimally invasive surgery for cervical cancer patients as a result of the study. Although the conclusions of the two studies are not proven, the decision by MD Anderson shows that doctors are not willing to take risks with their patients.

However, some argue that the results of the studies are not conclusive enough to abandon minimally invasive techniques without further study. One critic is R. Wendel Naumann, professor and director of minimally invasive surgery in gynecologic oncology at the Levine Cancer Institute at Atrium Health.

“To say that [these studies] should be used to completely ban laparoscopic hysterectomy […] I think that’s a stretch, do these results apply to all patients with cervical cancer, even those with minimal residual disease after a cold knife cone?” Naumann told HemOnc Today.

Both sides to the argument agree that further study is needed in the topic to determine what part of minimally invasive hysterectomies increase the risk of cervical cancer recurrence.

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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