Is early postradiation dysplasia almost associated with poor prognosis? A case report and review of the literature

Following radiotherapy for cervical carcinoma, abnormal cytologic changes have been reported in a number of publications. These reactions occur at varying periods of time following irradiation and do not necessarily reflect the presence of invasive cancer. On the basis of cytologic and histopathologic features, these reactions were determined as postradiation dysplasia (PRD). PRD has been reported to occur in 18.7-26% of patients treated by radiotherapy for cervical cancer. In the literature, it was reported that patients diagnosed with PRD less than 3 years after the initial diagnosis of cervical cancer had a mean survival rate of 33.8% as compared with a 100% 5-year survival rate in patients with a delayed (> 3 years) onset of period. We present a case of stage IIIB cervical squamous cell carcinoma with PRD detected 6 months after radiotherapy. The patient is still tumor free 8 years after radiotherapy. In the light of this patient, we review the literature and discuss the relationship of PRD with survival in the cervical carcinomas.