CONCURRENT CARBOPLATIN 5FU AND RADIOTHERAPY COMPARED TO RADIOTHERAPY ALONE IN LOCALLY ADVANCED CERVICAL-CARCINOMA - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY/

Aims and background: Despite the introduction of innovative techniques in radiotherapy (RT) delivery, no significant improvement In survival has been achieved in the last decades. Concurrent chemoradiation ther apy (CRT) is one of the several avenues being explored to improve the results. Methods and study design: Twenty-eight women with locally adv anced squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated with CRT comprising a combination of external and intracavitary RT, along w ith 3 cycles of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and carboplatin. Toxicity, pelvi c control rate and disease-free survival achieved in this group of pat ients were compared in a case-control study with those of a group of 2 8 patients with similar clinicopathologic characteristics treated with radical RT alone at our institution. Results: CRT was well tolerated, with 97% of the patients completing the protocol as planned. Acute to xicity, primarily hematologic, was significantly (P=0.05) higher in th e cases than in the controls (25% vs 3%). One treatment-related death occurred in a stage III patient in the CRT group. The median follow-up was 55 months (range, 20-156) in the RT group and 20 months (range, 1 4-46) in the CRT group. Pelvic control rate, disease-free survival and overall survival were not significantly different in the two groups. Estimated 5-year survival rate was 70% and 66% respectively for the RT and CRT group. Conclusions: Concomitant carboplatin/5-FU and radiothe rapy is a safe and tolerable means of treatment for locally advanced c ervical cancer. In our study, however, concurrent CRT did not result i n a significant improvement in pelvic control rate or survival compare d to standard conventional radiotherapy.