High-dose extended-field irradiation and high-dose-rate brachytherapy with concurrent chemotherapy for cervical cancer with positive para-aortic lymph nodes.

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy and toxicity of extended-field radiotherapy (RT) with concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with uterine cervical carcinoma and positive para-aortic nodes.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: We retrospectively reviewed the results for 33 women with Stage IB-IVB cervical cancer. Each patient had received 59.4 Gy, including a three-dimensional conformal boost to the para-aortic lymph nodes and 41.4-50.4 Gy of external beam radiotherapy to the pelvis. Each patient also underwent six or seven applications of high-dose-rate brachytherapy (median, 5 Gy to point A at each session).

RESULTS: The median follow-up period of surviving patients was 39 months. The most common acute toxicity was hematologic, observed in 23 women. Severe acute and late gastrointestinal toxicity was observed in 3 and 4 patients, respectively. More than three-quarters of patients showed a complete response, encompassing the primary mass, metastatic pelvic, and para-aortic lymph nodes. Of the 33 women, 15 had no evidence of disease, 6 had persistent disease, 4 developed in-field failures, and 6 developed distant failures. The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rate was 47% and 42%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with extended-field radiotherapy is feasible in women with uterine cervical carcinoma and positive para-aortic lymph nodes, with acceptable late morbidity and a high survival rate, although it was accompanied by substantial acute toxicity.