Challenge of Laparoscopic Surgery for Early-stage Cervical Cancer

In recent years, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery has been widely used in early-stage cervical cancer. Previous retrospective studies have shown that minimally invasive surgery is associated with less intraoperative blood loss, a shorter length of hospital stay, and a lower risk of postoperative complications than the abdominal approach, and yet does not affect survival. But a prospective multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial and a retrospective epidemiological study, which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on October 30, 2018, showed that minimally invasive surgery in patients with cervical cancer was associated with a higher rate of recurrence and a lower rate of disease-free survival. We can't completely negate the role of laparoscopy in the treatment of cervical cancer. But these results cause our attention and reflection. The choice of the surgical path depends on the characteristics of the patient, disease and personal technology.