[Chemotherapy of cancer of the cervix]

Systemic chemotherapy has been widely used for the purpose of inducing remission of advanced cancer of the cervix. Almost all anti-cancer drugs have been applied to this way of chemotherapy, however, the high effectiveness of cisplatin is worthy of notice, and this drug plays a central role in combination chemotherapy. Local hyperthermia, drug-induced hypertension and intra-arterial infusion of anti-cancer drugs are the representative methods to reinforce the effect of chemotherapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy has to be designed to adapt the extremely slow growing potential of residual microcarcinomas after surgery. Oral administration of tegafur for two years is a choice of maintenance chemotherapy preventive against postoperative recurrence.