Potential strategies for prevention of tumor spillage in minimally invasive radical hysterectomy

Abstract

Objective: The publication of a prospective [1] and several retrospective [2,3] studies describing a worse prognosis in patients affected with early-stage cervical cancer who underwent a minimally invasive radical hysterectomy has raised a high concern in what measures should be undertaken in order to revert these results. Potential strategies [4] to prevent tumor spillage have been previously proposed.

Methods: In this video, we describe nine strategies that should be addressed in future trials regarding this procedure.

Results: These strategies are: 1. Fallopian tubes should be coagulated prior to start the surgery. 2. All sentinel lymph nodes and lymphadenectomy specimens should be obtained without lymph nodes fragmentation. 3. All surgical specimens should be extracted within a containment bag. 4. Uterine manipulators must never be used. 5. Prior to vaginal section, a closed knotted ligature should be placed around the vagina, proximal to the section line, and the remaining vaginal cavity profusely washed. 6. Once the vagina is opened, the surgical specimen should be extracted vaginally within a specimen retrieval bag. 7. After surgery, the pelvic cavity is profusely washed with physiological serum, and the vagina should be washed with iodopovidone diluted to 10% [5]. 8. Port-site metastasis prevention measures should be performed. 9. Every action made to prevent tumor spillage should be recorded in the surgical report.

Conclusion: As there is a biological rationale in these measures that would prevent tumor spillage and seeding, there is a need of prospectively exploring them within appropriate studies in order to determine their own oncological outcome.

Keywords: Cervical Cancer; Minimally Invasive Surgery.