Pelvic Exenteration in Treating Patients With Recurrent Cervical Cancer

Inclusion criteria

* Diagnosis of cervical cancer * Any histology * Documented or suspected central pelvic disease with or without pelvic sidewall fixation from tumor and/or radiation fibrosis * Meets 1 of the following stage criteria: * Recurrent disease, defined as reappearance of disease after a complete clinical response lasting ≥ 1 month * Persistent disease, defined as presence of disease by biopsy ≥ 3 months after completion of primary therapy * Must have received prior primary treatment, including any of the following: * Surgery with or without post operative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy * Primary radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy * Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery * Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery with or without radiotherapy or chemotherapy * Plans to undergo pelvic exenteration to remove the pelvic disease within 14 days after study entry * Deemed to be a good surgical candidate * No evidence of distant disease or disease that is felt to be unresectable by physical examination * Patients with suspicious pelvic or para-aortic nodal disease as the only site(s) of extrapelvic disease are eligible at the discretion of the surgeon * Patients whose surgery is planned solely for managing complications (e.g., rectovaginal fistula, vesicovaginal fistula) of disease or prior therapy are not eligible * Patients whose surgery is planned as a prophylactic measure due to a slow or suboptimal clinical or radiographical tumor response during the course of primary therapy are not eligible * No distant site of metastases by CT scan or MRI of the abdomen/pelvis OR positron-emission tomography * No noncervical primary tumor * No prior anterior or posterior pelvic exenteration