Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery compared to radical surgery alone in bulky stage IB-IIA cervical cancer

The aim of this study was evaluation of the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and radical hysterectomy on long-term
survival in stage IBeIIA locally advanced cervical cancer as compared with radical surgery alone.
Methods: We reviewed all patients with cervical cancer stage IBeIIA who were treated with two treatment modalities, i.e. NACT followed
by radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy, and radical hysterectomy alone between March 1996 and March 2004. There were 22 patients
in the NACT group (group 1) and 160 patients in the immediate radical surgery group (group 2). All patients in group 1 were followed
for more than 108 months, and long-term survival and factors affecting recurrence were evaluated.
Results: Nineteen patients in the NACT arm underwent radical surgery. Pelvic lymph node metastasis was found in 8 patients in this group
and in 36 in the radical surgery group. Eighteen patients in the NACT group and 96 patients in the radical surgery group were scheduled for
adjuvant postoperative chemoradiation. During the 9-year follow-up, recurrence rate was 47.1% and 30.2% in NACT and control groups,
respectively. In the NACT group lymph node metastasis was a significant independent risk factor for recurrence. Overall survival in the
NACT arm was not statistically significantly lower than the control arm ( p ¼ 0.06).
Conclusion: NACT did not improve long-term overall survival of bulky early-stage cervical cancer patients compared to primary radical
surgery