A prospective case-control study on the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on surgery-related outcomes of laparoscopic radical hysterectomy

Aim: To investigate whether perioperative outcomes of class III/type C laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) for cervical cancer (CC) are influenced by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Patients and Methods: Data of consecutive patients, affected by locally advanced-stage CC, undergoing NACT plus LRH were matched 1:2 with consecutive patients, affected by earlystage CC who underwent LRH without NACT. Results: Twenty and 40 patients underwent NACT with LRH and LRH aIone, respectively. Demographic characteristics were balanced between groups. Number of lymph nodes yielded, parametrial width and length of vaginal cuff were not influenced by preoperative administration of NACT. Patients undergoing NACT plus LRH experienced slightly higher blood loss (225 vs. 200 ml; p=0.05) than patients in the control group, but had a similar operative time and length of hospital stay. No between-group differences in transfusion and complications rates were observed (p>0.2). Conclusion: The administration of NACT does not affect the surgeryrelated outcomes of LRH.