Combined radiation therapy and chemotherapy for carcinoma of the cervix

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer affecting women worldwide. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy have been used in various sett ings in an ef fort to improve survival rates of patients with cervical canc er. Recent cooperative clinical trials have demonstrated a benefit from the concurrent use of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to treat cervical can cer. These studies have provided the most significant improvement in the tr eatment of locally advanced disease in more than 30 years. This review summ arizes studies of sequential and concurrent combinations of chemotherapy an d radiation therapy for the treatment of cervical cancer, as well as the re cent controversies related to this treatment.