Risk Factors for Para-Aortic Lymph Node Metastases in Patients with Cervical Cancer

Introduction Although screening tests for cervical cancer detection have been widely implemented in the last decades in Romania, unfortunately a significant number of cases were diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease. In such cases the prognostic becomes significantly poorer. The lymphatic spread remains one of the principal patterns of dissemination leading to the apparition of lymphatic metastases which is associated with a poorer prognostic. Material and methods We present a series of 23 patients diagnosed with advanced stage cervical cancer submitted to total radical hysterectomy, pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection. Results and conclusions Among the 23 patients included in the present study nine cases presented para-aortic lymph node metastases. The presence of metastatic cells at these levels was associated with older age, tumors larger than 4 cm as well as with the initial stage at diagnostic. In conclusion, the presence of para-aortic lymph node metastases should be carefully inspected in cases diagnosed with larger tumor, in advanced stages of the disease.