A risk nomogram for assessing complications in patients undergoing surgical procedures for cervical cancer. Does baseline quality of life play a role?

OBJECTIVE

Surgery for cervical cancer is a known risk factor for hospital readmission, often due to urological, lymphovascular, or neurological complications. While comorbidities are commonly used to assess surgical risk, patient-reported measures like baseline quality of life (QoL) may also help predict complications. This study aimed to estimate how often surgical complications occur and what factors predict them, with a focus on baseline QoL.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective observational study of 100 cervical cancer patients who had surgery at a tertiary hospital between January 2010 and January 2019. A binary logistic regression model was used to predict surgical complications. Baseline QoL was measured with the Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-cervix questionnaire. Data were analyzed using R software.

RESULTS

Surgical complications occurred in 54% of patients, most of them after surgery. There was no significant difference in QoL scores between patients with and without complications (p = 0.753). The prediction model showed good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow p = 0.999), no multicollinearity (variance inflation factor = 1.01), and moderate accuracy (C-index = 0.67). A history of cesarean section and pelvic lymphadenectomy was significant predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical complications were common in this group. Cesarean section history and pelvic lymphadenectomy were linked to a higher risk. However, baseline QoL did not predict complications. Further research is needed to test this model in other patient groups.