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