Laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy in a patient with cervical cancer stage Ib1 complicated by a twin pregnancy.

Cervical cancer is the most frequently observed malignancy during pregnancy. The presence of nodal metastasis is the most important negative predictor factor, and its assessment is crucial in deciding whether the pregnancy can safely continue. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a twin pregnancy complicated by cancer of the uterine cervix that was successfully treated with laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy and subsequently with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A 35-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 1, with a dichorionic-diamniotic twin pregnancy underwent laparoscopic staging of the pelvic lymph nodes at 17 weeks of gestation. Cervical adenocarcinoma, grade 2, stage 1b1 with lymphovascular space invasion was diagnosed. Nineteen negative nodes were removed, and the patient was counseled to continue the pregnancy. On the basis of tumor size and detection of lymphovascular space invasion, cisplatin as neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered until week 32 of gestation, when a cesarean section delivery was performed, along with radical hysterectomy. No complications to the neonates or to the mother due to the therapy were observed. This case demonstrates the safety of operative nodal staging during gestation, even in a twin pregnancy. Exclusion of nodal metastasis may improve oncologic outcomes, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be administered when indicated. Copyright (c) 2010 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.