New hope for cervical cancer care
Research shows combining chemotherapy drugs with radiation cuts risk of dying by 23%
It was announced today that women with cervical cancer were given new hope today after research showed a combination therapy cuts the risk of dying by 23%.
Cisplatin is a widely-used chemotherapy drug which damages cancer cells and is used for a number of cancers including those of the cervix, bowel, head, neck and lung.
Now, British research has shown that adding cisplatin to radiotherapy to treat cervical cancer cuts the chance of dying by 23%.
It was already known that the combination can cure cervical cancer, but this is the first data showing how much death rates can fall by.
Cisplatin contains the metal platinum and works by affecting the DNA within cancer cells to kill them off.
Dr Paul Symonds, from the department of cancer studies and molecular medicine at Leicester University, led the study, which is being described as a significant advance.
He and colleagues in London and Manchester examined data for cisplatin combined with radiotherapy and compared it with that for patients given radiotherapy on its own.
The study involved the case histories of more than 1,000 women from 42 cancer treatment centres in the UK, which were collected in 2001/02.
Over a five-year follow-up, treatments were recorded, including on whether the cancer returned.
Dr Symonds said the combination of cisplatin and radiotherapy was already saving lives but his new research showed a significant fall in death risk.
“What the national audit has shown is that the addition of cisplatin improves survival.”
He added: “This audit showed a marked improvement in five-year survival of locally advanced cervix cancer compared to the last national audit of patients who were treated in 1993.
“Moreover, the UK results, as derived from a total of 42 centres (most district general hospitals) show that the results in the UK are now compatible with the best international practice.”
About 2,900 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK each year.
Some 68% will live for at least five years, with younger women having a better survival rate than older women.
Figures suggest that NHS cervical cancer screening is saving 5,000 lives every year.
Robert Music, director of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: “This positive research highlights the benefits of using chemoradiation to improve survival rates.
“This is now standard practice in the UK rather than just using radiotherapy, and so many more women diagnosed with cervical cancer will benefit from this treatment.”
The latest research, supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC), was published in the journal Clinical Oncology.
Last updated: 22/08/2010
