Effect of the Number of Removed Lymph Nodes on Survival in Patients with FIGO Stage IB-IIA Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma following Open Radical Hysterectomy with Pelvic Lymphadenectomy: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective To determine whether the number of removed lymph nodes (RLN) is associated with survival in patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IB-IIA cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). Methods We reviewed the medical records of FIGO stage IB-IIA CSCC patients who underwent standardized radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy (RHPL) in our center between 2006 and 2014. The X-tile software was performed to calculate the optimal grouping of cutoff points for RLN. The impact of RLN on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was analyzed using Cox regression analysis. Results Among 3,127 patients, the mean number of RLN was 22, and positive lymph node (LN) was found in 668 (21.4%) patients. X-tile plots identified "21" and "16" as the optimal cutoff value of RLN to divide the patients into two groups in terms of PFS and OS separately. In all patients, the number of RLN was not associated with PFS (P=0.182) or OS (P=0.193). Moreover, in both LN positive and negative patients, the number of RLN was not associated with either PFS (P=0.212 and P=0.540, respectively) or OS (P=0.173 and P=0.497, respectively). Cox regression analysis showed that the number of RLN was not an independent prognostic factor for PFS or OS. Conclusion If standardized RHPL was performed, the number of RLN was not an independent prognostic factor for survival of patients with FIGO stage IB-IIA CSCC.