[Chemotherapy for cervical carcinoma]

Although cisplatin-based chemotherapy is standard regime for cervical cancer, the major question remains as to what kind of drug is the best candidate for combination with cisplatin. According to recent reports, platinum+taxane is supposed to be a promising combination for not only squamous cell carcinoma but also adenocarcinoma of cervix. Studies of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy demonstrate no advantage for overall survival of locally advanced cervical carcinoma. Otherwise, neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical surgery was confirmed to offer a survival advantage in a few prospective randomized trials but its statistical power was low due to small number of patient cases. The platinum+taxane combination is good and its effects should be evaluated on overall survival in the same modality. Concurrent radiotherapy with weekly cisplatin is standard therapy for primary and adjuvant setting for squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of cervix.