A trial looking at surgery for cervical cancer (SHAPE)

This trial showed that the cancer came back in a similar number of people who had a simple hysterectomy and a radical hysterectomy.

Results
A total of 700 women joined this trial. They were all due to have surgery for cervical cancer. They were put into one of two treatment groups at random:

• half had a radical hysterectomy
• half had a simple hysterectomy

The research team looked at how many people’s cancer came back within the pelvic area (pelvis ), 3  years after joining the trial. This could include cancer in areas such as the vagina, the connective tissue and lymph nodes.

They found it was similar in both groups:

• 10 out of 350 women (2.9%) in the radical hysterectomy group
• 11 out of 350 women (3.1%) in the simple hysterectomy group

They also looked at how many people had died. This was 7 people in each group. Some died because of their cancer. And some died for other reasons.

Side effects
The team looked at how many people had complications during their operation. This was similar in both groups:

• 22 out of 344 women (6.4%) who had a radical hysterectomy
• 24 out of 338 women (7.1%) who had a simple hysterectomy

They also looked at the number of people who had at least one side effect within 4 weeks of their operation. They found it was:

• 174 women (51%) who had a radical hysterectomy
• 144 women (43%) who had a simple hysterectomy

The number of people who had at least one side effect beyond 4 weeks after their operation was:

• 208 women (61%) who had a radical hysterectomy
• 181 women (54%) who had a simple hysterectomy

The most common side effects in both groups were tummy (abdominal) pain, constipation and extreme tiredness (fatigue).

The team looked at the number of people who had bladder related problems such as urine leakage (incontinence) or difficulty passing urine (retention).

The number of people who had urinary incontinence for more than 4 weeks after surgery was:

• 38 women (11%) who had a radical hysterectomy
• 16 women (5%) who had a simple hysterectomy

The number of people who had urinary retention for more than 4 weeks after surgery was:

• 34 women (10%) who had a radical hysterectomy
• 2 women (less than 1%) who had a simple hysterectomy

Conclusion
The trial team concluded a simple hysterectomy was as good as a radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer. This is for women who have early stage cancer that has a low risk of coming back after surgery. They also found that it caused fewer urinary problems.

More detailed information
There is more information about this research in the reference below. 

Please note, the information we link to here is not in plain English. It has been written for healthcare professionals and researchers.

Simple versus Radical Hysterectomy in Women with Low-Risk Cervical Cancer
M Plante and others
New England Journal of Medicine, 2024. Volume 390, pages 819-829.

Where this information comes from    
We have based this summary on the information in the article above. This has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed ) and published in a medical journal. We have not analysed the data ourselves.