Clinical efficacy of paclitaxel/cisplatin as an adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy and systematic lymphadenectomy

Background and Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of paclitaxel/cisplatin (TP) as an adjuvant chemotherapy to adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) after radical hysterectomy and systematic lymphadenectomy for patients with cervical cancer. Methods: A total of 125 patients with early-stage cervical cancer, who underwent radical hysterectomy, and received adjuvant therapy due to recurrent risk factors were retrospectively analyzed. Forty-nine patients were treated with RT, and 32 received paclitaxel/ cisplatin (TP) for three to six cycles at 4-week interval. Survival and postoperative complications were compared between two modalities. Results: There was no significant difference of 3-year disease-free survival between two groups (P 0.23), while significantly better 3-year overall survival in TP group than RT group (P 0.02). Seven of 32 patients (21.9%) treated with adjuvant TP, 16 of 49 patients (32.7%) treated with RT showed disease recurrence. Median of survival time after recurrence in RT group and TP group was 8.5 months, 12.0 months, respectively. Postoperative bowel obstruction was significantly more frequent in the RT group compared to the TP group (P 0.01). Conclusions: Postoperative chemotherapy using TP might be more beneficial for survival than adjuvant RT and can reduce postoperative complications for cervical cancer patients treated with radical hysterectomy. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012; 105: 612-616. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.