S5 Ep35: Fertility Research ‘Long Overdue’ for Patients With Cervical Cancer

<div>For patients with cervical cancer who are negative for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) with normal or low-grade cytology, a prolonged follow-up interval of six months could be offered six to 24 months after receiving fertility-sparing surgery, according to the findings of a recent study.<br> <br> </div> <br> <div>Researchers, writing in a study published in The Lancet Oncology, noted that patients who are negative for high-risk HPV and have normal or low-grade cytology — a type of screening that collects cervical cells to be checked for changes caused by HPV that may turn into cancer, as explained by the National Cancer Institute — make up 80% of patients who receive fertility-sparing surgery, and that a 12-month interview “seems to be safe” following two consecutive negative high-risk HPV tests and an absence of high-grade cytology, which applies to 75% of all patients who receive fertility-sparing surgery. <br> <br> </div> <br> <div>Current guidelines in both the United States and Europe, researchers explained, recommend a six- to 12-month interval between follow-up visits for two years after fertility-sparing surgery, with a total follow-up of five years.<br> <br> </div> <br> <div> <strong>Learn more: </strong><a href="https://www.curetoday.com/view/hpv-causes-multiple-cancers-though-knowledge-on-the-connection-is-lagging"><strong>HPV Causes Multiple Cancers, Though Knowledge on the Connection Is Lagging<br> </strong></a><br> </div> <br> <div>“The development of a tailored surveillance strategy after fertility-sparing surgery could contribute to improved efficiency of follow-up in patients with cervical cancer and subsequently reduce costs in health care,” wrote the researchers behind the population-based retrospective cohort study, which utilized data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and the Dutch Nationwide Pathology Data Bank on more than 1,400 patients ages 18 to 40 with cervical cancer who received fertility-sparing surgery between Jan 1, 2000 and Dec 31, 2020.<br> <br> </div> <br> <div