RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix: a multi-institutional experience JF International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer JO Int J Gynecol Cancer FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP ijgc-2019-000612 DO 10.1136/ijgc-2019-000612 A1 Junyun Li A1 Yi Ouyang A1 Yalan Tao A1 Ligen Wang A1 Mingyi Li A1 Lei Gao A1 Xinping Cao YR 2019 UL http://ijgc.bmj.com/content/early/2019/11/28/ijgc-2019-000612.abstract AB Objective Small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix is associated with a poor prognosis with a median overall survival that is quite low. The aim of this study was to determine the clinico-pathologic characteristics that have an impact on survival in patients with small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.Methods A total of 93 patients were involved in this retrospective study. Inclusion criteria were patients diagnosed with histopathologically confirmed small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix and then later treated at three participating centers, between June 2001 and March 2015. Those without complete available follow-up records were excluded. The endpoints of this study were disease-free survival and overall survival. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods were used for analyses.Results There were statistical differences in overall survival between patients in early and in advanced stages by using the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) clinical stage. There were 75 patients with FIGO stage I to IIA (56 patients stage I, 17 patients stage IIA, and two patients stage IB or IIA because of uncertainty as to whether the fornix was involved); and 18 patients with FIGO stage IIB and above (10 patients IIB stage, five patients stage III, and three patients stage IV). Among the 76 patients who had surgery, 73 (96%) had a radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection and three (4%) patients had a simple hysterectomy without lymph node dissection. For early-stage patients, the 5 year disease-free survival rate was 52.7% compared with 32.4% in the advanced stage group (p=0.022). The disease-free survival for the early-stage group was 64.4% compared with 36.7% in the advanced-stage group (p=0.047). For factors affecting overall survival, age at diagnosis, tumor homology, tumor size, depth of stromal invasion, lymph node involvement, and treatment modality failed to reach significance in both univariate and multivariate analysis.Conclusion FIGO stage was a prognostic factor impacting survival—both overall survival and disease-free survival. Age at diagnosis, tumor histology (pure or mixed), tumor size, depth of stromal invasion, lymph node involvement, and treatment modality did not have an impact on overall survival.