Radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatinum-based chemotherapy became a standard recommendation for the management of advanced cervical cancer in 1999. We reviewed our experience with this approach to determine the impact on patient outcomes.
A retrospective review of all cervical cancer patients treated with curative intent using radical radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy from 1992 to 2005 was performed. Survival and relapse rates were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared using the log-rank test.
During this period, 224 treated patients were identified: 153 (68%) were treated between 1992 and 1999 (group 1) and 71 (32%) were treated after 1999 (group 2). The median age was 53 and 55 years with a median follow-up of 49 and 34 months for groups 1 and 2, respectively. Stage classification and histological diagnosis were similar for both groups. Treatment usually consisted of external beam pelvic radiotherapy (40-45 Gy in 20-25 fractions) followed by low-dose rate brachytherapy (35-40 Gy to point A). Chemotherapy consisted of weekly intravenous cisplatinum (40 mg/m2) given concurrently with pelvic radiation. The proportion of patients receiving chemotherapy increased significantly after 1999, 12% in group 1 compared with 79% in group 2 (P