New cervical cancer treatment reduces death risk by 40%: Lancet study

A new treatment plan for cervical cancer has shown a 40% reduction in the risk of death, offering hope for improved survival rates, as per a Lancet study. The researchers have prompted calls for implementing this regime for patients.

In Short

• Researchers have identified a new treatment plan for cerivcal cancer with better survival rates
• The new plan requires chemotherapy prior to the standard chemoradiation
• The overall survival rate showed a 40% reduction in the risk of dying

A new treatment plan for cervical cancer has been proven to reduce the risk of dying by 40%, according to a Lancet study.

Researchers said that while most cervical cancer patients are in their 30s, despite improvements in care, the cancer returns in as many as 30% of the cases.

The new regime was tested in patients from the UK, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil, and studied for over 10 years. It involves a short course of chemotherapy, then chemoradiation, which is a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the standard treatment for cervical cancer.

The research, conducted by scientists from University College London, reduced the risk of death from cervical cancer by 40% in the phase-three clinical trial. It also showed 35% reduction in the risk of cancer coming back within five years.

With 6,60,000 new cases and 3,50,000 deaths due to cervical cancer reported in 2022, the researchers revealed that his short-term treatment plan could improve survival of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.

The treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer is usually a combination of chemotherapy and radiation, but many patients still experience the cancer spreading and don't survive.

The researchers looked into whether starting chemotherapy before the usual treatment (chemoradiotherapy) could help patients live longer and prevent the cancer from getting worse.

The trial included 500 women who were randomly allocated to receive either the new treatment plan or the usual chemoradiation treatment. At the time, none of the patients' tumours had spread to other organs.

In the study, one group underwent a new treatment plan consisting of six weeks of carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy, followed by standard radiotherapy combined with weekly cisplatin and brachytherapy, known as chemoradiation.

The control group, however, received only the usual chemoradiation treatment.

After five years, 80% of patients who received an initial short course of chemotherapy were still alive, and 72% had no cancer recurrence or spread. In the standard treatment group, 72% survived, and 64% had no return or spread of their cancer.

The overall survival rate showed a 40% relative reduction in the risk of dying from cervical cancer.

"This short-course induction chemotherapy regimen followed within 7 days by chemoradiotherapy improves survival of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer. It should now be considered a standard of care and be included in the design of future trials that explore the incorporation of new agents for the treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer," the authors of the study wrote.