Comparison of Chemoradiotherapy and Radical Radiotherapy in Patients With Cervical Cancer

The current study aimed at comparing the results of radical radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with cervical cancer and evaluating the prognostic factors.

CRT is the standard of care for locally advanced cervical cancer with the five-year survival rate of 30%–80%. In 1978-2006, a total of 716 patients with cervical cancer stage IB2-IVB were retrospectively analyzed for RT and CRT. In intracavitary brachytherapy, the median dose was 24 Gy and follow-up was 78 months. CRT was treated with 45 Gy external radiotherapy with cisplatin 40 mg/m2 given once a week.

The five-year pelvic control rate was 56.2% in the radical RT arm and 75.8% in the combined arm (P=0.01); disease-free survival and overall survival rates were 47%-56.3% (P=0.09) and 44.9%-52.5% (P=0.03), respectively. Treatment failure was detected in 317(50.5%) of 627 patients in the RT arm and in 30 (33.7%) of 89 patients in the CRT arm (Chi-squared value=8.86, P<0.01). Treatment failure rate was high in the 1st two years. Distant metastases were detected in 116 patients in the RT and 17 patients in the CRT arms. Hematological side effect rates in the CRT arm -anemia, thrombopenia, and leukopenia- were 33.7%, 13.5%, and 28.1%, respectively. The prevalence of rectitis, cystitis, and skin and subcutaneous fibrosis in the RT arm was 9.4%, 4.8%, and 2.2%, and in the CRT arm was 12.4%, 11.2%, and 13.5%, respectively.

CRT increased pelvic control and overall survival rate based on the findings; it can be the preferred treatment modality because of its high response rate and acceptable toxicity.