Only a minority of the patients who develop recurrence after definitive treatment for cervical cancer are detected after 5 years (late recurrence); the numbers are lesser still after 10 years (very late recurrence). Among the infrequent cases that do develop "late" and "very late" recurrence, the commonest site is the pelvis. We report an unusually rare recurrence of treated cervical cancer confined to the para-aortic nodal group after a protracted disease-free interval of 13 years. On the basis of the long disease-free interval, location of the mass at the periphery of the radiation field, and aggressive imaging appearance, a diagnosis of radiation-induced sarcoma was considered. However, the final diagnosis of isolated para-aortic nodal recurrence of cervical cancer was rendered based on the histopathological and immunohistochemistry findings, supported by the absence of disease elsewhere on whole-body imaging.

Keywords
Carcinoma cervix, isolated para-aortic nodal recurrence, para-aortic nodal recurrence, PET/CT, radiation induced sarcoma, recurrent carcinoma cervix, ′very late′ recurrence