Critical review of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery for locally advanced cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of female cancer mortality worldwide. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy represents the standard of care for patients with stage IB2-IIIB cervical cancer. However, the lack of radiotherapy departments, especially in developing countries, the presumed high incidence of long-term complications, and the poor control of metastatic disease have brought about the development of different therapeutic approaches such as neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery. We reviewed the literature concerning the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer.