A recent study has shown that adding a six-week chemotherapy treatment to the standard protocol for locally advanced cervical cancer can significantly increase survival rates.
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According to , the research, published in the journal The Lancet, included 500 patients from 32 medical centers in Brazil, India, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2022.
The participants, all diagnosed with advanced-stage cervical cancer and without metastatic tumors, were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group received standard chemoradiotherapy, which combines radiation and the drug cisplatin, while The experimental group received a short course of chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel before starting standard treatment.
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The results of the study were promising because 80% of patients who received the initial cycle of chemotherapy lived at least five more years, and 72% did not experience a relapse or spread of cancer. By comparison, in the control group, 72% survived at least five years and 64% did not relapse.
Cervical cancer
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Despite the benefits, many patients experienced side effects such as fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, and infections. 59% of the group that received initial chemotherapy suffered serious adverse events, compared to 48% in the chemoradiotherapy alone group.
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The researchers highlight that this is the first randomized phase three study to show a “significant survival advantage” to use chemotherapy before chemoradiotherapywhich represents a “clinically significant improvement” at a “relatively low cost.”
Dr. Mary McCormack, from University College Hospital and lead author of the study, said: “This is the largest improvement in the results of this disease in more than 20 years. I am incredibly proud of all the patients who participated in the trial”.
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Cervical cancer
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Cervical cancer, once the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S., isIt remains a serious problem, with around 4,000 deaths a year. Brawley, a professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University, stresses the importance of regular screening tests, which can detect human papillomavirus (HPV), a significant risk factor for this disease.
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This year, the FDA approved a self-collection option for HPV detection, making the screening process easier. Brawley emphasizes that, Thanks to the HPV vaccine and screening, cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable.
While chemotherapy can come with difficult side effects, experts hope the future of treatment will include more personalized options, such as immunotherapy, which uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. “The best hope is immunotherapy,” Brawley concluded, “and we aim to help more women with fewer side effects.”
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