Molecular detection of occult tumor cells in pelvic tissue of cervical cancer patients

Purpose: Local recurrences of surgically treated cervical cancer patients occur in about 20% despite of complete local tumor resection and radical lymphonodectomy. Occult tumor cell deposits (OTCD) remaining in situ might be involved in the development of local recurrences. Methods: Tissue samples from cervical cancer patients, treated by total mesometrial resection (TMMR) were obtained from 17 anatomically defined locations inside and outside the uterovaginal meso-metrial unit. The search of OTCD was performed using a patient-specific integrated HPV-DNA-sequence which was used to design an integrate specific PC…