Cancer of the cervix in women under 40 years of age, a regional survey, 1975-1984.

Objective— To review the method and results of treatment of carcinoma of the cervix in women <40 years old. Design— Retrospective review of all available case records. Setting— Yorkshire Regional Health Authority. Subjects— 428 women <40 years old treated for stage IB-IV carcinoma of the cervix between 1975 and 1984 inclusive. Main outcome measures— Overall survival, by stage, effect of age, identifiable factors of prognostic significance, survival, grade 3 morbidity and pattern of recurrence in relation to treatment. Results— The 5-year actuarial percentage survival by stage was 78–4 (IB), 54–4 (II), 18–4 (III) and 0 (IV). Identifiable factors of prognostic importance were stage, nodal metastases (P<0.001) and tumour grade (P<0.01). Conclusion— Primary surgical treatment for young women with early disease allows ovarian conservation and the avoidance of radiotherapy in 80% of them. Such treatment results in less local recurrence, particularly evident in patients with moderate or poorly differentiated tumours and a lower incidence of serious morbidity.