[Hemoglobin level--a prognostic factor of the effectiveness of metronidazole in radiotherapy of cancer of the cervix uteri].

A clinical trial was performed in 339 patients with Stages IIB, IIIB cervical carcinoma to test the effect of radiotherapy in combination with metronidazole. When the overall material was evaluated, no significant difference in the local clearance rate of tumors in metronidazole-treated and untreated patients was revealed. However, when the case material was subdivided into a group of anemic patients (hemoglobin less than 120 g/l) and a group of patients with normal hemoglobin levels (hemoglobin greater than 120 g/l) the data indicated that metronidazole therapy improved significantly the results in the anemic patients. The results in the non-anemic patients were not influenced, to any significant extent, by the drug.