Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in woman with early or locally advanced cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is a major global health problem for women. Despite the screening and vaccines available today, it continues to be the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide with 85% of cases occurring in developing countries. Standard treatments for early or locally advanced cervical cancer are surgery (S) or concomitant chemo-radiotherapy (CT-RT). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) prior to surgery or radiotherapy has been proposed and tested in clinical trials and has been included in clinical practice in some countries.In order to determine the true role of NACT either prior to S or RT in terms of achieving benefits in OS or DFS, randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses published from its beginnings to the present have been searched and analyzed in this study.The analysis of published clinical trials shows that NACT followed by S and NACT followed by RT have failed to demonstrate benefits in OS or DFS. Clinical trials comparing NACT followed by S versus exclusive RT have also been analyzed, where NACT followed by S could not show benefits for RT either.

Adding neoadjuvant chemotherapy to S or RT cannot be recommended outside the context of clinical trials.