[The value of adjuvant irradiation in lymphatic vessel invasion in patients with a cervical carcinoma in histopathological stage Ib and with negative lymph nodes].

The present retrospective study attempts to evaluate the significance of adjuvant radiotherapy as a prognostic factor for stage Ib cervical carcinoma without lymph node metastases but with lymph-vascular space invasion. 54 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria: histopathological stage Ib, radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy, negative pelvic lymph nodes and lymph-vascular space involvement. Though larger tumors were found (tumor infiltration of the cervix greater than 2/3) in the irradiated group (chi 2-test p = 0.003), there was no significant difference in the five-year overall survival (92% five-year survival without vs. 90% with adjuvant irradiation). In contrast statistical significant difference was found in recurrence-free interval between these groups (Wilcoxon test p = 0.02).