ABSTRACT
Forty one patients with para-aortic node metastases from carcinoma of the uterine cervix treated with radiotherapy at Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei University, College of Medicine from January 1982 to December 1987 were retrospectively analyzed. Eleven patients were diagnosed at the time of diagnosis of carcinoma of the cervix (early diagnosis) and 30 patients were diagnosed during follow up period after definitive radiotherapy of primary site (late diagnosis). The most important factors affecting the survival in this study were time of diagnosis and dose of irradiation. Overall 5 year actuarial survival rate of 41 patients was 25.7%. Five year survival rate for early diagnosis was 60.3%, but late diagnosis was 10.9%. And survival rate for high dose (over 4000 cGy) radiation group arid low dose radiation group were 42.2% and 8.9% respectively. The most leading cause of death was para-aortic node failure, so early diagnosis and maximum palliation with full dose radiotherapy (over 4000 cGy) is necessary to improve the survival and the quality of life.