Outcomes of chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancer--the Western Australian experience

A retrospective review of patients with Stage IB1-IVA cervical cancer treated with combined chemoradiotherapy in Western Australia was conducted with the aim of assessing outcomes and patterns of recurrence. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify potential prognostic factors.

Patients treated with radical chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer in Western Australia between June 2005 and November 2008 were analyzed. Treatment consisted of external-beam radiotherapy with concurrent weekly cisplatin (40 mg/m(2)), followed by high-dose-rate brachytherapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine overall survival and disease-free survival, and Cox regression analysis was used to identify potential prognostic factors.

Sixty-nine patients were included in the analysis. All patients completed external-beam radiotherapy; however, only 43.5% of patients completed the planned course of brachytherapy. At a median follow-up of 27 months, 24- and 48-month overall survival were 68.8% and 61.1%, respectively. Disease-free survival at 24 and 48 months was 59.4% and 56.7%, respectively. The 2-year local control rate was 70.1%. Nodal involvement resulted in increased risk of disease recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] 6.26, p = 0.002) and death (HR 5.15, p = 0.013). Pretreatment hemoglobin <120 g/L was a negative prognostic factor for disease recurrence (HR 4.20, p = 0.031) and death (HR 8.19, p = 0.020). Completion of brachytherapy improved overall survival (p = 0.039), with a trend to reducing disease recurrence (p = 0.052). The risk of relapse increased with treatment time over 8 weeks (HR 8.18, p = 0.019), however treatment time did not affect the risk of death (p = 0.245).

The overall survival outcomes in this group of women with locally advanced cervical carcinomas treated with chemoradiotherapy are comparable to worldwide data. Despite the use of modern treatment protocols, a significant proportion of women developed locoregional recurrences and distant failures. Many poor prognostic factors have been identified as contributors to this, including pelvic nodal involvement, incomplete brachytherapy, pretreatment hemoglobin <120 g/L, and treatment time over 8 weeks.