Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- 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 postoperative 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

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

- Over 18

Performance status

- Not specified

Life expectancy

- Not specified

Hematopoietic

- Not specified

Hepatic

- Not specified

Renal

- Not specified

Other

- No noncervical primary tumor

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

- Not specified

Chemotherapy

- See Disease Characteristics

Endocrine therapy

- Not specified

Radiotherapy

- See Disease Characteristics

Surgery

- See Disease Characteristics

- No prior anterior or posterior pelvic exenteration