POSTERIOR PELVIC EXENTERATION FOR ADVANCED, UNRESPONSIVE TO RADIATION THERAPY CERVICAL CANCER – A CASE REPORT

Although pelvic exenterations represent aggressive surgical procedures which might associate physical and psychological problems and a worsened body image, they are the only potential solution with curative intent in centro-pelvic tumors originating from both digestive and gynecologic tract. (1,2,3) In selected cases preoperative oncologic treatment can offer a tumor down-staging or can diminish the tumoral invasion in adjacent organs providing this way the possibility of less aggressive surgical procedures. In other cases this desiderate cannot be obtained
the tumor proves to be unresponsive to neo-adjuvant treatment and multivisceral resections being needed in order to obtain a good control of the disease. Studies have shown that clinical features of the tumor and both molecular and non-molecular biomarkers can be responsible for the poor tumoral response at irradiation. (4) In these cases surgery remains the only treatment with curative intent. We present the case of a 62 year old patient diagnosed with a large cervical tumor in which neo-adjuvant treatment failed to obtain an acceptable control of the disease. She was addressed to our service after augmentation of the tumor under neo-adjuvant treatment
we performed a total hysterectomy en bloc with bilateral adnexectomy, total colpectomy, abdomino-perineal rectal resection and pelvic lymph node dissection with good results.