Chemo with RT offers no significant survival benefit

A recent study found that adding chemotherapy to radiotherapy does not significantly improve survival rates for women with early-stage cervical cancer. However, it does increase side effects. This research involved 316 patients who had surgery for cervical cancer and met certain risk factors. They were randomly assigned to receive either just radiotherapy or chemoradiation that included weekly cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug. The study's leader, Dr. Sang Young Ryu, said the results confirm that the addition of chemotherapy does not provide better outcomes. The study was presented at a conference by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology. The patients in the trial had undergone radical hysterectomy and had certain intermediate risk factors. After treatment, the rates for no cancer recurrence were similar between the two groups. The recurrence-free survival rate was 88.5% for the chemoradiation group and 85.4% for the radiotherapy group. Additionally, side effects were more frequent in the group that received chemotherapy. About 43% of patients experienced severe adverse events compared to 15% in the radiotherapy-alone group. These included decreased white blood cell counts, which makes patients more vulnerable to infections. Dr. Premal Thaker, who discussed the study, highlighted the importance of prevention for cervical cancer. He pointed out that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is very effective in preventing this disease. Despite these benefits, vaccination rates are low in many places around the world. Thaker stressed the importance of increasing access to the HPV vaccine to reduce cervical cancer cases in the future.