Armed with persuasive data from five new studies, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is recommending an important change in how invasive cervical cancer is treated, urging physicians to strongly consider adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy rather than treat with surgery or radiation alone.
Each of the five studies enrolled several hundred women with cervical cancer that had spread locally or regionally. According to a clinical announcement that the NCI mailed last month to thousands of physicians, combining radiation with chemotherapy improved the 3-year survival rate, reducing the risk of death by 30% to 50%.
The clinical announcement notes that although the best chemotherapy regimen for cervical cancer has not been determined, "significant results were seen using cisplatin alone or cisplatin in combination with 5-FU and other agents."
Results from three of the studies will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April and are . . . [Full Text of this Article]
