Post-recurrence survival in patients with cervical cancer

•The 5-year post-recurrence disease-specific survival (PR-DSS) rate was 39.1% in patients with early-stage cervical cancer.•The strongest factors for PR-DSS were primary tumour size and the presence of symptoms at diagnosis of recurrence.•The presence of symptoms at recurrence remained a significant prognostic factor after correction for lead-time bias.•PR-DSS was best in patients without LN involvement or LVSI suffering from solitary asymptomatic recurrence.