Minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early stage cervical cancer

Evidence on minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early stage cervical cancer shows that there are no short-term safety concerns.

• The evidence on efficacy for tumours 2 cm or larger shows that minimally invasive radical hysterectomy has shorter disease-free and overall survival compared with open hysterectomy surgery. Therefore, this procedure should not be used for tumours 2 cm or above.

• The evidence on efficacy for tumours smaller than 2 cm is inconclusive for disease-free and overall survival compared with open hysterectomy surgery. Therefore, for tumours smaller than 2 cm this procedure should only be used in the context of research.
  
  Find out what 'do not use' and 'only in research' mean on the NICE interventional procedures guidance page.

Further research, preferably in the form of randomised controlled trials, should describe details of patient selection, tumour histology and size and surgical technique and report overall survival, disease-free survival, tumour recurrence and patient‑reported outcome measures.