Search

The article discusses a study which evaluated the accuracy and usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in defining cervical tumors in women after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). It states that 26 women underwent MRI before and after NACT wherein the sensitivity of the MRI was 58.8% while its specificity was 66.7%. It says that with advanced technology of MRI, it could be used to provide biomarkers for better cancer management.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in staging cervical tumors after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT)., Methods: 26 women, affected by locally advanced cervical cancer and triaged for surgery after NACT, were submitted to three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. All patients were submitted to MRI before and after NACT. We evaluated the MRI sensitivity and specificity in staging cervical tumors after chemotherapy, relating MRI findings after NACT with the pathological findings as the gold standard., Results: In our series, MRI sensitivity was 58.8% and specificity was 66.7%., Conclusions: In our study MRI accuracy after NACT was lower than that of MRI used to stage patients with early cervical cancer scheduled for primary surgery, reported by the literature. MRI false negative cases are the major problem because of the delay in application of an effective therapy in non responders to NACT.

Thirteen patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial carcinoma were treated with a combination of doxorubicin (40 mg/m2 IV) and cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2 IV). All patients had been refractory to prior radiotherapy and hormone therapy. None of the patients had received prior chemotherapy. Six of the 13 patients (46%) achieved an objective response: 1 complete response (8%) and 5 partial responses (38%). Median overall survival was 10 months (range 3-20 months). Doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide is an active combination in patients with advanced endometrial cancer.