Organ preservation in locally advanced carcinoma of the uterine cervix

In the treatment of locally advanced carcinoma of the uterine cervix the multimodal therapeutic approach is useful to improve overall survival and disease-free survival. Two studies of concomitant radiochemotherapy were conducted. In the first, recurrences of gynecologic tumors were treated, in the second primary tumors of the uterine cervix. In the first study 29 patients, of whom 15 with endometrial cancer recurrence, 10 with cervical cancer recurrence and 4 with vulvar cancer recurrence were treated with FUMIR schedule (5-FU and mitomycin C plus concomitant radiotherapy to the pelvis in two cycles of 23.4 Gy) and subsequent brachytherapy boost. In the second study 17 patients, of whom 14 evaluable, were treated with external beam radiotherapy (ERT 40 Gy) and concomitant chemotherapy (5-FU and CDDP). Before and after treatment the patients were examined with MRI. After radiochemotherapy radical hysterectomy and histology of surgical specimen was performed. Results of first study were as follows: acute G1-G2 (RTOG) hematologic toxicity 56%, G3 4%; G1-G2 gastrointestinal 54%, G1-G2 skin 29%; G1-G2 rectum 24%; G1-G2 bladder 25%; G1-G2 vagina 30%. Local control, overall survival and disease-free survival at 24 months were 45%, 76% and 67%, respectively. Results of the second study showed 9/14 patients with complete response and 4/4 patients with partial response (93%), no change in 1, with 100% MRI accuracy as compared to histology. Based on these results a phase III clinical trial was planned in primary cancer of the uterine cervix using concomitant radiochemotherapy (CDDP + 5-FU) plus intracavitary brachytherapy for organ preservation.