Early stage cervical cancer: role of magnetic resonance imaging after conization in determining residual tumor

Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently indispensable in the management of cervical cancer, its role in determining residual tumor in patients with cervical cancer after conization is not well known.To evaluate the value of MRI after conization in determining residual tumor in patients with FIGO stage IA-IB1 cervical cancer.In this retrospective study, 55 patients underwent conization followed by preoperative MRI and definitive surgery. Two radiologists evaluated the presence of residual tumor on MRI. MRI and preoperative clinical variables were compared between patients with and without residual tumor at final pathology using Student's t-test or Chi-square test. Association between variables and the presence of residual tumor was assessed using logistic regression analyses and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Residual tumor at final pathology was found in 30 (54.5%) patients. Patients with residual tumor were older, had greater SCC antigen, and more frequently had positive conization margins and identifiable tumor on MRI (P < 0.008). Multivariate analysis showed that age (P = 0.008; odds ratio [OR] = 1.140), positive conization margin (P = 0.016; OR = 11.919), and identifiable tumor on MRI (P = 0.038; OR = 6.926) were independently predictive of residual tumor. Areas under the curve (AUCs) calculated with age (0.693), SCC antigen (0.755), and identifiable tumor on MRI (0.727) were greater than lymphovascular space invasion (0.517) and histological subtype (0.520, P ≤ 0.049). Otherwise, there were no significant differences in the AUCs derived from different variables (P = 0.053-0.970).Identifiable tumor on MRI after conization in patients with early stage cervical cancer was an independent predictor of residual tumor at final pathology.