Lymph node micrometastases in initial stage cervical cancer and tumoral recurrence.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of micrometastases in lymph node tissue of patients with stage Ib1-IIA cervical cancer, the correlation of micrometastases with tumor recurrence and survival, and the expression of D2-40 in the primary tumor of patients with recurrence and/or micrometastases and its correlation with histopathologic findings.

Methods: In a retrospective study, the medical records of all patients with cervical cancer treated at a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, between 2001 and 2007 were reviewed. Patients with no lymph node metastases and treated with radical hysterectomy without adjuvant treatment were included.