ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer recurrence in episiotomy scars after vaginal deliveries is a rather rare event. AIM: We present a review of the current literature data on the field. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in PubMed and Scopus. RESULTS: 10 case reports and 3 case series with total 18 patients were included. The mean age of the patients was 33.3 years. One of them was diagnosed 1 year before her pregnancy, two of them were diagnosed during pregnancy, six of them during labor and eight patients at postpartum follow-up appointments from 1 week to 8 months postpartum. Twelve cases were squamous cell carcinoma, five cases adenocarcinoma and one case adenosquamous carcinoma with the majority of them staged as Ib1-2. The interval time from initial diagnosis to detection of recurrence had a wide range from 5 weeks to 5.5 years. The diameter of the recurrence was also ranging (5-60 mm). The management of such a recurrence included different extent of wide local excision or chemotherapy or radiotherapy or combinations of them. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware about the importance of carefully examining not only the cervix at the time of labor, but also the episiotomy scar in women following a pregnancy complicated by cervical cancer.
