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Objective A recent randomized trial demonstrated that concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with weekly cisplatin and gemcitabine, followed by two adjuvant cycles of cisplatin and gemcitabine improved survival for advanced cervical cancer patients. An Asian Gynecologic Oncology Group (AGOG) study was designed to determine whether only adding gemcitabine in the chemoradiation phase without adjuvant chemotherapy could improve survival. Methods Between March 2009 and March 2013, 74 eligible patients with International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology stage III/IVA cervical cancer or stage I/II with positive pelvic/para-aortic nodal metastasis were enrolled. Thirty-seven patients were randomized to arm C (weekly cisplatin 40 mg/m²) and 37 patients were randomized to arm CG (weekly cisplatin 40 mg/m² and gemcitabine 125 mg/m²), for six cycles. Six eligible patients were excluded before the beginning of treatment. Results An interim analysis showed superimposable progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS), a decision of closing accrual was made. A 3-year PFS was similar in both arms (arm C 65.1% vs. arm CG 71.0%, p = 0.71), and a 3-year OS was 74.1% in arm C vs. 85.9% in arm CG (p = 0.89), but crossed over at 5 years. Grade 2-4 hematological toxicities, including neutropenia (p = 0.028) and thrombocytopenia (p = 0.001), were more frequent in arm CG than arm C. Conclusions Despite limitation in power, it suggests that only adding gemcitabine at the CCRT phase does not provide substantially superior results, but treatment toxicities could increase. Further studies are required to determine the role of post-CCRT adjuvant chemotherapy in advanced cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the role of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the management of small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix (SCCC) through a retrospective study of Taiwanese Gynecologic Oncology Group. Methods: We reviewed the medical records and histological files of 144 patients with FIGO stages IA-IIB SCCC treated in 11 main hospitals in Taiwan from 1987 to 2009. Results: There were 110 patients receiving primary surgery and 34 primary radiation therapy. Most patients in each group also received chemotherapy as part of primary treatment. A lower loco-regional failure rate was observed in patients who received primary radiation therapy than in those who had primary surgery (6% vs. 27%; P = 0.009). The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 89% for 13 surgically treated patients with cervical tumor ≤ 2 cm and no lymphovascular space involvement (LVSI) in whom recurrence was noted in 2 of 4 patients without receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and none in the 9 patients who had chemotherapy. Excluding these 13 patients, primary radiation therapy with at least 5 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy (n = 14, including 12 stages IB2-IIB) resulted in a 5-year OS of 78%, better than that of 46% by primary surgery (n = 97, including 40 stages IB2-IIB) (P = 0.046). Conclusions: None of the 9 patients with cervical tumor ≤ 2 cm and no LVSI showed disease recurrence after primary surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. For most patients with stages I-II, primary radiation therapy with aggressive chemotherapy was associated with better survival than surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]