Diagnosis of Recurrent Carcinoma of the Cervix

Abstract

Nearly half of the patients with carcinoma of the cervix will eventually die of persistent or recurrent disease. If patients who do not respond to initial therapy could be identified early and positively, many of them could be cured or the course of their disease so modified as to offer significant palliation. However, for the purpose of this discussion, we must distinguish between persistent and recurrent cervical cancer. Persistent cancer is that which never disappears, and all cases should be diagnosed during the first 3 months after treatment. Recurrent tumors are those that initially heal after radiotherapy and subsequently recur locally or elsewhere. When the primary treatment involves surgical extirpation of the lesion and the margins of the wound seem to be free of tumor, any reappearance — other than immediate local reappearance — is considered a recurrence.