Safety of ovarian preservation in women with stage I and II cervical adenocarcinoma: a retrospective study and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The safety of ovarian preservation remains uncertain in women with cervical adenocarcinoma and significant risk factors for ovarian metastases vary among different studies. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the impact of ovarian preservation on prognosis in women with cervical adenocarcinoma and to assess clinical factors associated with ovarian metastases. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study of 194 women with cervical adenocarcinoma was conducted and 159 women were followed up until the end of the study. To compare the impact of ovarian preservation on prognosis, women with successful follow-up were studied, including 33 women with ovarian preservation and 126 women who underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. For women who underwent radical hysterectomy, pelvic lymphadenectomy, and bilateral salpingooophorectomy, the risk factors for ovarian metastases were identified. A meta-analysis of the literature was carried out to further validate the findings. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in survival between women with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and ovarian preservation (P = .423 for disease-free survival; P = .330 for overall survival). Tumor size (>4 cm), deep cervical stromal invasion, and lymph node metastasis were significant independent prognostic factors related to poor disease-free survival, and lymph node metastasis was significantly associated with overall survival. Of 153 women with cervical adenocarcinoma who underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, a significant difference was found in the relationship between ovarian metastasis and deep cervical stromal invasion, lymph node metastasis, and parametrial invasion. The meta-analysis showed that clinical stage IIB vs I-IIA (odds ratio, 4.64; 95% confidence interval, 2.11-10.23), deep stromal invasion (odds ratio, 10.63; 95% confidence interval, 3.12-36.02), lymph node metastasis (odds ratio, 8.54; 95% confidence interval, 4.15-17.57), corpus uteri invasion (odds ratio, 7.39; 95% confidence interval, 3.69-14.78), and parametrial invasion (odds ratio, 9.72; 95% confidence interval, 4.67-20.22) were significantly related to ovarian metastasis. CONCLUSION: Ovarian preservation has no effect on prognosis in women with early-stage cervical adenocarcinoma. Risk factors for ovarian metastases were stage IIB, deep cervical stromal invasion, lymph node metastasis, corpus uteri invasion, and parametrial invasion. In women with early-stage cervical adenocarcinoma without these risk factors, ovarian conservation can be considered.