Radical Hysterectomy Plus Concurrent Chemoradiation/Radiation Therapy Is Negatively Associated with Return to Work in Patients with Cervical Cancer

Objective Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases in working-age women. This study investigated the influence of adverse effects of various treatment modalities on return to work in women with cervical cancer. Methods Questionnaires and clinical data from medical records of 97 patients with early stage (stages I and II) cervical cancer were collected and assessed by treatment received. The following treatment groups were analyzed for correlations between time to return to work and various adverse effects: radical hysterectomy (RH) alone, RH group (n = 29); concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT)/radiation therapy (RT) alone, CCRT/RT group (n = 21); and RH + CCRT/RT group (n = 47). The χ² test was used to determine the significance of the correlations. Results The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 43.0 years and the average interval since treatment was 4.5 years. The RH + CCRT/RT group was the most strongly negatively associated with return to work in employed patients who had undergone CCRT/RT group of cervical cancer (P = 0.012). There was a significant association between failure to return to work and lower extremity lymphedema (P = 0.049). A more than-6-month interval between treatment and return to work and reduced personal income occurred in a significantly higher percentage of patients in the RH + CCRT group than in the CCRT/RT group (P = 0.034 and P = 0.034). Conclusions Of the treatments assessed, RH + CCRT/RT has the greatest negative effect on return to work in women with cervical cancer.