Radiotherapy and Cervix Cancer - University Hospitals Birmingham Experience with Patients Not Suitable for Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy with Cisplatin

摘要

Sir - The most effective treatment for patients with cervical cancer is concurrent chemoradiotherapy using cisplatin [1]. However, this is not suitable for all patients. Over 5 years, 74 patients in our practice did not have cisplatin. We therefore reviewed the reasons for this and the results.Fifty-two patients were treated with radical radiotherapy, as a combination of age (44%), performance status (18%), co-morbidities (40%) and poor renal function (24%) meant cisplatin was not considered safe. These patients had a 3 year overall survival of 54%, which is comparable with that shown in the Royal College of Radiologists' audit [2]. This is despite having higher stage patients (56% stage IIIa and over). Radical radiotherapy was well tolerated with only 11 patients experiencing grade 3-4 acute toxicity. The late gastrointestinal or genitourinary grade 3-4 toxicity rate was 11.5%, which is comparable with the Royal College of Radiologists' audit (8%).