A recent clinical trial has shown that giving patients with cervical cancer a short course of chemotherapy before radiation therapy can reduce the risk of dying from the disease by 40%. The results of the trial, published in The Lancet, have been hailed as a major breakthrough in the treatment of cervical cancer.
The trial, which took place over a decade and included 500 patients from five different countries, found that adding chemotherapy before standard radiation therapy and chemotherapy led to a significant improvement in survival rates. After five years, 80% of patients who received the additional chemotherapy were still alive, compared to 72% of those who received only the standard treatment.
Cervical cancer primarily affects women between the ages of 35 and 44, with almost 14,000 cases diagnosed in the U.S. annually. The chances of survival depend on the stage of the disease at diagnosis, with 4,360 people expected to die from the disease each year in the U.S.
The study also found that the extra chemotherapy reduced the chance of the disease recurring by 35%. Cervical cancer is primarily caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), and the incidence of the disease is dropping in younger women due to the availability and uptake of the HPV vaccine.
While the vaccine has had a significant impact on cervical cancer rates in countries with high vaccination rates, older women who did not receive the vaccine when younger and unvaccinated women are still at risk of developing and dying from the disease.
Overall, the results of the trial offer hope for improved outcomes for patients with cervical cancer and highlight the importance of ongoing research and advancements in treatment options for this disease.