Gynecology & Obstetrics
Open Access

Abstract

Impact of Brachytherapy in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer: Results from a Single Institution

Sahli N, Bakkali H, Boutayeb S, Khalil J, Elmajjaoui S, Elkacemi H, Kebdani T and Benjaafar N

Introduction: In Morocco, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer, and proximally half of the cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage. The standard treatment approach is concurrent chemoradiation followed by intracavitary brachytherapy (BT) boost to the cervix.

Patients and methods: 293 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy between January 2011 and December 2011 at our department was retrieved. We analyzed defined prognostic factors influencing outcomes. The aim of our study is to analyze the effect of the use of brachytherapy on treatment outcomes (overall survival and local control) and to report the toxicities for each treatment approach.

Results: At 3 years, the use of brachytherapy as boost was found to be a significant factor impacting both OS (P=0.0001)), and LC (P=0.001). Also in the multivariate analysis, brachytherapy was an independent prognosis factor affecting both OS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.29; 95% CI, 1.50-7.21, P=0.03) and LC (hazard ratio [HR], 2.33; 95% CI, 1.30-7.21, P=0.005).

Conclusion: At present, brachytherapy is still the standard approach to boost the cervix in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.