Table 3.
Summary of characteristics of initial excision patients.
| Variables | Total | LLETZ | Cold knife cone (CKC) | Diathermy ablation | p value across 3 treatment groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 155 | 144 (92.9%) | 5 (3.2%) | 6 (3.9%) | |
| Median age at referral in years (range) | 28 (22–65) | 28 (22–63) | 42 (29–65) | 24 (22–29) | 0.003 |
| Smoking | |||||
| Yes | 56 (100%) | 51 (91.1%) | 2 (3.6%) | 3 (5.3%) | 0.502 |
| No | 90 (100%) | 85 (94.4%) | 3 (3.3%) | 2 (2.2%) | |
| Not available | 9 (100%) | 8 (88.9%) | 0 | 1 (11.1%) | |
| Excisional margins | |||||
| Endocervical margin | 0.234 | ||||
| Not involved | 132 (88.6%) | 129 (89.6%) | 3 (60%) | N/A | |
| Involved | 9 (6.0%) | 8 (5.6%) | 1 (20%) | N/A | |
| Not available | 8 (5.4%) | 7 (4.8%) | 1 (20%) | ||
| Ectocervical margin | >0.999 | ||||
| Not involved | 102 (68.5%) | 99 (68.8%) | 3 (60%) | N/A | |
| Involved | 38 (25.5%) | 37 (25.7%) | 1 (20%) | N/A | |
| Not available | 9 (6.0%) | 8 (5.5%) | 1 (20%) | ||
| Radial Margin | >0.999 | ||||
| Not involved | 117 (78.5%) | 113 (78.5%) | 4 (80%) | N/A | |
| Involved | 9 (6.0%) | 9 (6.3%) | 0 | N/A | |
| Not available | 23 (15.4%) | 22 (15.3%) | 1 (20%) | ||
| Overall Margin | 0.615 | ||||
| Not involved | 93 (64.6%) | 91 (65%) | 2 (50%) | N/A | |
| Involved | 51 (45.4%) | 49 (35%) | 2 (50%) | N/A | |
| TOC | 0.049 | ||||
| Yes | 123 (79.4%) | 116 (80.6%) | 3 (60%) | 4 (66.7%) | |
| No | 32 (20.6%) | 28 (19.4%) | 2 (40%) | 2 (33.3%) | |
| Cure rates 6 months posttreatment | 73.2% (90/123) | 72.4% (84/116) | 66.7% (2/3) | 100% (4/4) | |
| Overall cure rates (as of July 2019) | 89.4% (110/123) | 88.8% (103/116) | 100% (3/3) | 100% (4/4) | 0.805 |
| Median interval between referral and discharge (months) (range) | 11.7 (2.9–74.8) | 11.4 (2.9–74.8) | 15.7 (8.8–40.2) | 16.8 (13.5–29.6) | 0.286 |
| Median number of visits prior to discharge (range) | 3 (2–8) | 3 (2–8) | 6 (3–8) | 3 (3–4) | 0.021 |