Are patients and physicians willing to accept less-radical procedures for cervical cancer?

Objective: To evaluate the opinions of women who underwent surgery for cervical cancer (CC) and physicians who treat CC about the acceptability of increased oncological risk after less-radical surgery. Methods: One hundred eighty-two women who underwent surgery for CC and 101 physicians participated in a structured survey in 3 tertiary cancer centers in Czech Republic and Turkey. Patients and physicians were asked whether they would accept any additional oncological risks, which would be attributable to the omission of parametrectomy (radical hysterectomy/trachelectomy vs. simple hysterectomy/trachelectomy) or pelvic lymph node dissection (systematic resection vs. sentinel lymph node sampling). Results: Although 52.2% of patients reported morbidity related to their previous treatment, the majority of patients would not accept less-radical surgical treatment if it was associated with any increased risk of recurrence (50%-55%, no risk; 17%-24%, risk