Are pelvic side-wall recurrences of cervical cancer biologically different from central relapses?

Background. By using the Combined Operative and Radiotherapeutic Treatment (CORT) procedure, pelvic side-wall recurrences of gynecologic malignancies arising in a previously irradiated pelvis may be locally controlled. Local control of central relapses may be achieved by exenteration alone. If, in cervical cancer, both relapse patterns are biologically different (as hypothesized by some investigators), distinct disease courses after local treatment may be expected. Methods. Since June, 1989, 32 pelvic recurrences of cervical cancer were treated for local control in this institution. The median size of the recurrent tumors was 5 cm (range, 2–9 cm); 84% of the patients had been extensively ir…