Impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the postoperative pathology of locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinomas: 1:1 propensity score matching analysis

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on postoperative pathology for stage IB2 and IIA2 cervical squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS Postoperative pathology was compared between patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy (NACT group) and patients who received upfront radical hysterectomy (URH group). Then, patients in the NACT group were divided into a chemotherapy-sensitive group and a chemotherapy-insensitive group according to their response to chemotherapy. RESULTS After 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM), the positive rates of lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) (7.9% vs 17.7%, P = 0.001) and cervical deep stromal invasion (60.4% vs 76.2%, P