New treatment regimen for cervical cancer ‘reduces risk of death from disease by 40%’

Doctors are hailing a “remarkable” new treatment regime for cervical cancer that reduces the risk of death by 40%, the biggest advance against the disease in 25 years.

According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with approximately 660,000 new cases and 350,000 deaths each year. In Britain there are around 3,200 cases and 800 deaths every year.

Many of those affected are in their 30s and despite improvements in care, the cancer returns in as many as 30% of cases.

The new treatment plan was tested in patients recruited over ten years from Britain, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil. It involves a short course of chemotherapy before patients undergo chemoradiation, the standard treatment for cervical cancer that involves a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Research led by University College London found that the results of the phase three clinical trial showed a 40% reduction in the risk of death from the disease and a 35% reduction in the risk of contracting the cancer. returns for at least one month. five years. Their findings have been published in the Lancet.

Dr. Mary McCormack, the lead researcher on the study at UCL, told the Guardian that the discovery was the most significant breakthrough in the treatment of cervical cancer since the end of the last century. “This is the largest gain in survival since the introduction of chemoradiation in 1999,” she said.

“Any improvement in a cancer patient’s survival is important, especially if the treatment is well tolerated and given for a relatively short time, allowing women to return to normal life relatively quickly.”

Researchers from UCL and University College London Hospital (UCLH) completed a long-term follow-up of patients who received a short course of chemotherapy before chemoradiation.

The Interlace study, funded by Cancer Research UK and the UCL Cancer Trials Centre, looked at whether a short course of induction chemotherapy before chemoradiation could reduce recurrences and deaths among patients with locally advanced cervical cancer that had not spread to other organs. push back.

The study recruited 500 women who were randomly assigned to the new treatment regimen or the standard chemoradiation treatment. None of the patients’ tumors had spread to other organs.

In the study, one group received the new regimen of six weeks of chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel. This was followed by standard radiotherapy plus weekly chemotherapy with cisplatin and brachytherapy, also called chemoradiation. The control group received only the usual chemoradiation.

After five years, 80% of those who first received a short course of chemotherapy were still alive and in 72% the cancer had not returned or spread. In the standard treatment group, 72% were still alive and in 64% the cancer had not returned or spread.

Separately, UCL said the study showed a 40% reduction in the risk of death and a 35% reduction in the risk of cancer recurrence when the two groups were compared using a different measure.

Abbie Halls, a customer service manager from London who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 27, is one of the women who received the new treatment regime. “I’ve been cancer-free for over nine years now and I’m not sure I’d be here without the treatment I received,” the 37-year-old said. “I am pleased to be able to play a role in advancing the research, which I hope will save the lives of many more women in the years to come.”

The results prompted calls for the regime’s implementation in the UK and internationally. McCormack said: “A short course of induction chemotherapy prior to standard chemoradiation treatment significantly increases overall survival and reduces the risk of relapse in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.

“This approach is a simple way to make a positive difference, using existing drugs that are cheap and already approved for use in patients. It has already been adopted by some cancer centers and there is no reason that this should not be offered to all patients undergoing chemoradiation for this cancer.”

Dr. Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: “The simple act of adding induction chemotherapy to the start of chemoradiation treatment for cervical cancer has produced remarkable results. A growing body of evidence shows that additional chemotherapy given before other treatments, such as surgery and radiotherapy, can increase patients’ chances of successful treatment. Not only can it reduce the chance of cancer coming back, it can also be delivered quickly, using medicines already available worldwide.”