Abdominopelvic computed tomography in the preoperative evaluation of early cervical cancer

The efficacy of abdorainopelvic computed tomography (CT) in determining the extent of disease in the patient with early cervical cancer was evaluated in 24 patients (FIGO Stage Ia-1, Ib-18, IIa-5). The CT stage was compared to both the clinical and surgical pathological staging, CT was accurate only in 58% of the cases in determining parametrial extension. It was unable to detect any of the 6 cases of histologically documented lymph node metastases. CT appears to have limited use in the patient with early cervical carcinoma because with parametrial thickening it lacks sufficient specificity to differentiate between malignant and nonmalignant tissues and there is not sufficient sensitivity to detect early nodal involvement.