Effectiveness of preoperative concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) for locally advanced adenocarcinoma of cervix.

Abstract Aim To determine the efficacy of preoperative concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) to improve the prognosis of locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. Methods Twenty-five patients with clinical stage IB2–IVB adenocarcinoma of the cervix were received preoperative CCRT. The CCRT protocol included: external radiotherapy to the pelvis: 39.6 Gy; intra-arterial or intravenous infusion of 70 mg/m 2 cisplatin, days 1 and 22; 24-h continuous intravenous infusion of 700 mg/m 2 5-FU, days 1–4 and 22–25. Two weeks after the end of CCRT, patients underwent restaging followed by appropriate surgery with pelvic lymphadenectomy. Results The overall clinical response rate was 96% (24/25), with a complete response (CR) in 12/25 patients and partial response (PR) in 12/25. On pathological examination, 5 of 19 patients (26%) undergoing surgery showed a pathological CR, 13 patients showed a PR, and 1 patient no change (NC) in their disease. Grade 3 or 4 hematological toxicity was observed in 15 patients. Grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicity was observed in 8 patients. The median follow-up period was 34 months (range, 6–69). The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 84%, and the progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 76%. Conclusions Preoperative CCRT improves the survival of patients with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the cervix, with manageable toxicities.