[Efficiency and side effects of concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy for advanced cervical cancers].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficiency of concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy for advanced cervical cancer.

METHODS: Between Dec. 1999 and Dec. 2003, 158 women with cervical cancer were treated with concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The regimen was 45 Gy/25 fraction radiation to the pelvis, intracavitary after-loading 7-9 fractions, (42 +/- 7) Gy to point A and 10-30 Gy to cervical submucosa 0.5 cm for debulking; meanwhile, chemotherapy was given with cisplatin 60 mg/m2, d1-d4, and 5-Fu 2400 mg/m2, over a 96-hour period.

RESULTS: The rate of local resistence and pelvic recurrence was 4.4% and 3.2%, respectively. The rate of distant metastasis was 17.1%. The overall 5-year survival rate was 66.3%, without statistically significant difference between concurrent chemoradiation group and radiation alone group during the same period. The adverse effect included grade 3 or grade 4 leukopenia in 12.7% of these patients, grade 3 thrombocytopenia in 1.3%, anemia in 3.2%, diarrhoea in 17.8%, cardiac toxicity in 10.1% and radiation- related rectitis in 13.3% and cystitis in 0.6%, but alopecia was rare.

CONCLUSION: Concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy may not be able to improve survival for advanced cervical cancer, however, adverse effect is tolerable.