Upstaging by para-aortic lymph node dissection in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Accurate staging of para-aortic nodal status in cervical cancer is of great importance for individualizing treatment and impacting outcomes. Three-dimensional imaging (i.e. PET, CT, MRI) may miss para-aortic lymph node (PALN) metastases. The aim of this study was to systematically review and meta-analyze the proportion of upstaging by PALN dissection in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer without suspicious PALNs on imaging. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase were systematically searched. The analysis included diagnostic studies that reported on 3D imaging and pre-therapeutic surgical assessment of PALN status in patients with cervical cancer. An overall pooled upstaging rate was calculated using a random-effects model. Results: The search identified 16 eligible studies including 18 cohorts with a total of 1530 patients. Pooling of 12 cohorts demonstrated an upstaging rate of 12% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10–15%) by PALN dissection after negative PET or PET-CT. Pooling of 6 cohorts demonstrated a pooled upstaging rate of 11% (95% CI: 8–16%) by PALN dissection after negative MRI or CT. No significant heterogeneity in upstaging proportions across cohorts was observed (I² = 0% and 27%, respectively). In 7 cohorts including only patients with pelvic nodal metastases on imaging (but no suspicion of PALN involvement) a pooled upstaging rate by PALN dissection of 21% (95% CI: 17–26%) was found (I² = 0%). Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrates that in case of no suspicious PALN on PET-CT or MRI, PALN dissection still identifies lymph node metastases in a considerable amount of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer and especially in those patients with confirmed pelvic nodal metastases.