Effects of perioperative blood transfusion on prognosis in early-stage cervical cancer

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic effects of transfusion on patients undergoing radical hysterectomy for early cervical cancer. Methods: This retrospective chart review analyzed 413 patients with stage IA-IIA disease, of whom 374 were evaluable. Results: Three hundred (80%) patients received transfusions and 74 (20%) did not. The clinical characteristics of the two groups were similar, with the exception that the transfused group was older. Pathologic comparisons found that microscopic parametrial disease and larger cervical lesions were more common in the transfused group. Follow-up analysis revealed no difference between the two groups in recurrence or survival. Multivariate analysis found only grade, depth of invasion, and nodal status as independent predictors of recurrence and survival. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed no difference in overall survival or disease-free interval between the transfused and non-transfused groups. Conclusions: After correction for other prognostic factors, blood transfusion had no prognostic significance in patients with early cervical cancer undergoing radical hysterectomy.