Local Disease-Free Survival and Disease-Free Survival in Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer Diagnosed and Treated in Bihor County, Romania.

INTRODUCTION

Cervical cancer is the fourth most dangerous malignancy worldwide in women and is diagnosed at the advanced stages in most cases. Oncological and surgical modalities when precisely employed together can prove to be helpful for determining the proper diagnosis and treatment strategies. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been found to have a role in reducing tumor size and has evolved as a treatment regimen for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC). The present study aimed to analyze the treatment strategies either with neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy (NACT) administration or not and pathological responses in patients with LACC.

METHODS

We reviewed 100 patients of LACC from October 2018 to December 2022 at Bihor County Emergency Clinical Hospital. About 43 patients underwent radiation therapy in addition to NACT administration (NACT+/other) and 57 underwent other treatment regimens without neoadjuvant treatment (NACT-/ other). Various demographic parameters, FIGO staging, histological status, surgical interventions, and survival rate (local disease-free survival (LDFS) and disease-free survival (DFS)) were accessed in both groups. Statistical analysis was performed to analyze the significance of various parameters studied.

RESULTS

The mean age range of the studied sample was 57.05 ± 12.51 in NACT+/other and 60.4±12.32 in NACT-/other. Among 100 patients, 90 cases of squamous carcinoma, eight of adenocarcinoma, and two cases of adenosquamous carcinoma were analyzed and treated. At stage IIIC1, 11 patients were accessed while 15 patients were at clinical stage IIIC2, and among these, 25.58% received neoadjuvant oncological treatment and very limited mediastinal disease. DFS rates are greater in the patients who have undergone surgery in the NACT+/other group, while in the LDFS, there is better survival in the case of surgery without any NACT treatment (NACT-/other).

CONCLUSIONS

The effect of NACT can be suggested as another important treatment strategy and result in a good response in terms of DFS and LDFS in patients with LACC. This approach aims to reduce tumor size preoperatively, facilitating surgical removal and potentially improving patient outcomes compared to other treatment modalities. Thus, it can be concluded that NACT may be considered an important strategy to be opted for the treatment of LACC.