A retrospective study of 119 patients ranging from 30-69 yr of age was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative Ra treatment for patients with Stage IB (FIGO [International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics] 1971) squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix undergoing radical hysterectomy. Results in 61 patients who had radical hysterectomy without preoperative Ra treatment were compared to those in 58 patients who had received Ra preoperatively. The patients receiving Ra systems had an uncorrected 5-yr survival rate of 89.7%, while the patients without preoperative Ra treatment had a 75.1% 5-yr rate of survival. This difference in survival rate was judged to be secondary to the greater incidence of lymphatic invasion and residual tumor in the surgical specimens of the patients who did not receive preoperative Ra. The occurrence of significant gastrointestinal and urinary tract complications was identical in the 2 groups.