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Cervical Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)     
Last Modified: 08/28/2009
Health Professional Version
Changes to This Summary (08/28/2009)

The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.

General Information 1

Updated statistics 2 with estimated new cases and deaths for 2009 (cited American Cancer Society as reference 1).

Added text 3 to include HPV testing as a diagnostic test used to detect cervical cancer. Also added that in surgically treated patients clinical stage as a prognostic factor must include several gross and microscopic pathologic findings.

Added text 4 about the indication from Gynecologic Oncology Group studies that prognostic factors vary whether clinical or surgical staging are used, and with treatment; added an association between delayed radiation delivery completion and poorer progression-free survival with the use of clinical staging; mentioned other prognostic factors that studies showed may or may not hold up when utilizing chemoradiation (cited Monk et al. as reference 8).

Added text 5 about the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) 18 DNA type as the most-established molecular factor associated with outcome and mentioned two studies in which HPV18 DNA type is an independent prognostic factor in patients with cervical carcinomas treated with radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy (cited Burger et al. as reference 16 and Lai et al. as reference 17).

Added text 6 about the usefulness of HPV DNA testing in triaging patients with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance to colposcopy, a practice which has been integrated into current screening guidelines (cited Wright et al. [Am J Obstet Gynecol, 346-55] as reference 21 and Wright et al. [Am J Obstet Gynecol, 340-45] as reference 22).

Stage Information for Cervical Cancer 7

Added Gold et al. as reference 1 8.

Treatment Option Overview 9

Added text 10 to list standard treatments for patients with cervical cancer, which include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Added Chemoradiotherapy for Cervical Cancer Meta-Analysis Collaboration Group as reference 9 11.

Added text 12 to list treatments under clinical evaluation, which include new anticancer drugs in phase I and phase II clinical trials.

Added text 13 to include Cervical cancer during pregnancy as a new subheading.

Added Hunter et al. as reference 15 14.

Stage 0 Cervical Cancer 15

Added text 16 about the issuance of consensus guidelines for managing women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or adenocarcinoma in situ (cited Wright et al. as reference 1).

Added text 17 to include total abdominal or vaginal hysterectomy for postreproductive patients and internal radiation therapy for medically inoperable patients to the list of methods to treat ectocervical lesions.

Stage IB Cervical Cancer 18

Added text 19 to include the Federation Internationale de Gynecologie et d'Obstetrique stages IA2 and IB1 for women with small-volume disease.

Added text 19 to include concomitant chemotherapy and radiation therapy for adenocarcinomas that expand the cervix more than 4 cm.

Added text 20 to include concomitant chemotherapy with already stated pelvic and para-aortic radiation therapy; also added chemotherapy as a postoperative therapy with radiation therapy; added chemotherapy as a treatment with extended-field radiation therapy.

Cited Chemoradiotherapy for Cervical Cancer Meta-Analysis Collaboration Group as reference 19 21

Added text 22 about the use of radiosensitizing chemotherapy being indicated for stage IB2 lesions, but stated that the role of radiosensitizing chemotherapy in IA2 and IB1 lesions is untested and most likely of marginal benefit.

Added Monk et al. as reference 25 23.

Stage IIA Cervical Cancer 24

Cited Chemoradiotherapy for Cervical Cancer Meta-Analysis Collaboration Group as reference 17 25.

Cited Monk et al. as reference 20 26.

Added text 26 about the use of radical surgery for small lesions versus concomitant chemotherapy and radiation.

Stage IIB Cervical Cancer 27

Cited Chemoradiotherapy for Cervical Cancer Meta-Analysis Collaboration Group as reference 15 28

Cited Monk et al. as reference 18 29.

Stage III Cervical Cancer 30

Cited Chemoradiotherapy for Cervical Cancer Meta-Analysis Collaboration Group as reference 13 31.

Cited Monk et al. as reference 16 31.

Stage IVA Cervical Cancer 32

Cited Chemoradiotherapy for Cervical Cancer Meta-Analysis Collaboration Group as reference 8 33.

Cited Monk et al. as reference 11 34.

Stage IVB Cervical Cancer 35

Added text 36 to include cisplatin/topotecan as a standard treatment option (cited Long et al. as reference 12).

Added text 37 to include new anticancer drugs in phase I and phase II clinical trials as treatment options under clinical evaluation.

Recurrent Cervical Cancer 38

Added text 39 about the seven Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) randomized phase III trials that showed only one regimen being superior in overall survival to single-agent cisplatin (cited Tewari et al. as reference 3 and Long et al. as reference 4). Also stated that the cisplatin/topotecan doublet shows more bone marrow suppression compared to cisplatin alone, but there was no associated decrement in quality of life found with the combination (cited Monk et al. [J Clin Oncol 2005] as reference 5).

Added text 40 about patients with performance status of 0 or 1 who tolerated the combination in the GOG-selected paclitaxil plus cisplatin regimen because it was superior to cisplatin alone in response rates and progression-free survival (cited Monk et al. [J Clin Oncol 2008] as reference 6).

Added text 41 to include as standard treatment options the following drugs: bevacizumab (cited Monk et al. [J Clin Oncol 2009] as reference 13); ifosfamide/cisplatin; cisplatin/topotecan; and cisplatin/vinorelbine (cited Morris et al. as reference 18).

Added text 42 to include new anticancer drugs in phase I and phase II clinical trials as treatment options under clinical evaluation.



Table of Links

1http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/1.
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2http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/20
7.cdr#Section_207
3http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/3.
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4http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/26
2.cdr#Section_262
5http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/15
3.cdr#Section_153
6http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/7.
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7http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/11
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8http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/27
1.cdr#Section_271
9http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/85
.cdr#Section_85
10http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/27
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11http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/86
.cdr#Section_86
12http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/27
8.cdr#Section_278
13http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/28
0.cdr#Section_280
14http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/91
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15http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/93
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16http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/94
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17http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/97
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18http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/11
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19http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/22
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21http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/11
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22http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/18
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23http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/19
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24http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/11
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25http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/12
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26http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/19
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27http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/12
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28http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/12
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29http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/18
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30http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/13
1.cdr#Section_131
31http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/13
3.cdr#Section_133
32http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/13
6.cdr#Section_136
33http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/13
8.cdr#Section_138
34http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/18
8.cdr#Section_188
35http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/14
1.cdr#Section_141
36http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/19
8.cdr#Section_198
37http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/27
2.cdr#Section_272
38http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/14
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39http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/26
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40http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/26
3.cdr#Section_263
41http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/19
9.cdr#Section_199
42http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/cervical/HealthProfessional/27
4.cdr#Section_274