Robotic radical hysterectomy for stage 1B1 cervical cancer: A case series of survival outcomes from a leading UK cancer centre.

BACKGROUND: We present the largest UK single institute robotic radical hysterectomy (RRH) case series for the management of cervical cancer (CC). METHODS: Data were collected on women who had a RRH as primary treatment for stage 1b1 CC between December 2009 and December 2018. RESULTS: Ninty women had a robotic hysterectomy. Five-year follow-up data were available for 30%. The disease-free survival at 5 years was 89.6%. Overall survival at 3 and 5 years for death from any cause was 96.1% and 91.4%, respectively. The overall 5-year survival for death from disease only was 92.8%. Overall survival by tumour size alone showed that women with tumours less than 2 cm had a 98.3% 5-year survival compared to 83.4% for tumour size greater than 2 cm. Irrespective of tumour size, those that had no evidence of lymphovascular space invasion had a 100% 5-year survival. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary data supports the oncological safety of RRH in a selective cohort of patients with stage 1b1 CC.

Effect of blue dye guided lymph channel ligation on the surgical morbidity of groin lymphadenectomy for vulval cancer: a feasibility study.

Inguinal lymphadenectomy has significant morbidity. Blue dye-guided lymph channel ligation is an effective technique for resolving lymphocele. This was a feasibility study in a preventative setting. Patients with vulval cancer requiring bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy were recruited. After lymphadenectomy, patent blue V dye was injected and the severed lymph channels leaking blue dye, on the randomly-designated side were ligated. The median age was 72.5 years and the median body mass index was 25. The median lymph node harvest was 18.5. There were no significant surgical procedural differences between the right and the left sides. There was no significant difference between the two arms in terms of the duration or the volume of drainage and post-operative complications. All patients were alive at the follow-up period of 40.5 months. In this feasibility study, blue dye-guided lymph channel ligation did not significantly impact on post-operative outcomes. Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Lymph channel ligation with blue dye-guidance is an effective strategy for managing recalcitrant inguinal lymphocyst. This strategy was prospectively-studied in a small series of patients with non-gynaecological cancers. This particular study by Nakamura et al. ( 2011 ) revealed that such a strategy might be efficacious in reducing wound drain output. What do the results of this study add? Our study is the first study to assess this technique exclusively in vulval cancer. Blue dye-guided lymph channel ligation at the time of inguinal lymphadenectomy does not appear to reduce wound drainage. However, this study suggests that primary lymphocyst predominantly results from inflammatory exudates, whereas persistent secondary lymphocysts are likely to result from lymphorrhoea. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Future studies, which aim to reduce the morbidity of open inguinal lymphadenectomy, should employ a composite strategy to reduce inflammatory secretions. In addition, a biochemical and cytological analysis on lymphocysts at various time points should be performed to characterise the natural history of groin lymphocysts.