Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 12, 2026
Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Gynecologic Cancer
Published on: April 17, 2012
Short course versus conventional interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy) regimen in locally advanced cervical
Mohammad Babaie1, Mahdi Aghili1, Mohadeseh Poudineh2
1Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran Cancer Institute, University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Radiation Oncology Research Center, Cancer Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Purpose:
To evaluate whether reducing overall treatment time (OTT) by shortening interventional radiotherapy (IRT; brachytherapy) duration affects outcomes in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer undergoing definitive chemoradiation.
Methods And Material:
In this randomized clinical trial, conducted in 2016-2017, 75 patients with stage IB2-IVA cervical cancer were enrolled. The intervention group (n = 41) completed high-dose-rate IRT within 1 week, whereas the control group (n = 34) received the conventional 3-week schedule. The primary endpoint was treatment-related complications.
Result:
At 5-year follow-up, 7 patients were lost to follow-up, leaving 68 patients for analysis. Median OTT was significantly shorter in the intervention group (59 vs. 64.5 days; p = 0.01), and the complete response rate was higher (53.1% vs. 31.3%; p = 0.041). No significant differences were observed in overall survival (p = 0.962) or disease-free survival (p = 0.128). Multivariate analysis identified treatment response as a significant predictor of survival, with complete response associated with improved outcomes (p < 0.001). Acute and late adverse events, including proctitis, cystitis, and vaginal hemorrhage, were comparable between groups (all p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
Shortening IRT duration reduced OTT and improved complete response without increasing treatment-related toxicity, although no significant survival benefit was observed.
