Reconsideration of postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy with fluorouracil and cisplatin for uterine cervical cancer

AimThe aim of this retrospective study was to analyze data for patients with stage IB-IIB uterine cervical cancer who were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy with fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (CCRT-FP) as postoperative adjuvant therapy and to re-examine these issues and further treatment. MethodsPatients with high risk for recurrence underwent CCRT-FP as postoperative adjuvant therapy. A total of 73 patients who met these criteria were included in this study. Data related to survival, toxicity, and treatment feasibility were analyzed, and the question of whether there were differences in survival and toxicity according to the number of dissected lymph nodes at surgery was evaluated. ResultsMedian patient age was 45years (range, 24-67 years). Two-thirds of patients had squamous cell histologic type, 41 patients (56.2%) had parametrial invasion, and 60 patients (82.2%) had lymph node metastases. Estimated 4-year progression-free survival, overall survival, and local control rates were 71.8%, 84.1%, and 88.5%, respectively. Sixteen patients (21.9%) had grade 3-4 neutropenia and one of them died of septic shock. Non-hematological toxicities were also common: 13 (17.8%) experienced grade 3-4 nausea, and nine (12.3%) experienced grade 3-4 diarrhea. Ileus occurred in 17 patients (23.3%), and seven of them (9.6%) were not yet cured. One patient experienced gastrointestinal perforation. ConclusionsCCRT-FP in the postoperative setting resulted in good survival outcome but toxicity remained problematic. Development of appropriate treatment for patients with high-risk prognostic factors after radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy is required.