Simple tweak to cervical cancer treatment cuts risk of death by 40%, say researchers

Researchers at UCL and its associated hospital, University College London Hospital, spent 10 years studying patients who were given a short course of chemotherapy before chemoradiation, which is a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

They found there was a 40% reduction in the risk of death and a 35% reduction in the risk of the cancer returning within five years.

When the initial results were announced in October 2023, Cancer Research UK said it showed the biggest improvement in cervical cancer treatment in more than 20 years.

"This approach is a straightforward way to make a positive difference, using existing drugs that are cheap and already approved for use in patients," said Dr Mary McCormack, lead investigator of the trial from UCL Cancer Institute and UCLH.

"It has already been adopted by some cancer centres and there's no reason that this shouldn't be offered to all patients undergoing chemoradiation for this cancer."

Chemoradiation has been used to treat cervical cancer since 1999 but under the current process, cancer returns in up to 30% of cases.

The Interlace phase III trial, funded by Cancer Research UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre, studied whether a short course of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation could cut death and relapses among patients with locally advanced cervical cancer that had not spread to other organs.

"Timing is everything when you're treating cancer," said Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK.

"The simple act of adding induction chemotherapy to the start of chemoradiation treatment for cervical cancer has delivered remarkable results in the Interlace trial."

The researchers studied 500 patients over 10 years from hospitals in the UK, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil.

Patients were randomly allocated to receive either standard treatment or the new treatment combination.

After five years, 80% of those who received a short course of chemotherapy first were alive and 72% had not seen their cancer return or spread.

In the standard treatment group, 72% were alive and 64% had not seen their cancer return or spread.

-SKY NEWS