Results of image guided brachytherapy for stage IB cervical cancer in the RetroEMBRACE study

Primoz Petric*, Jacob C. Lindegaard, Alina Sturdza, Lars Fokdal, Kathrin Kirchheiner, Li T. Tan, Maximilian P. Schmid, Christine Haie-Meder, Ina M. Jürgenliemk-Schulz, Erik van Limbergen, Peter Hoskin, Charles Gillham, Ekkasit Tharavichitkul, Umesh Mahantshetty, Elena Villafranca, Kari Tanderup, Christian Kirisits, Richard Pötter

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: Multiple treatment options are used in early local-stage cervical cancer, including combinations of surgery with neoadjuvant/adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Our aim was to determine the outcome for definitive chemoradiation with image guided brachytherapy (IGBT). Methods: FIGO1994 staging system was used in our study. We included 123 patients with stage IB cervical cancer, treated at 12 centers with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) ± Chemotherapy and IGBT. Three- and 5-year actuarial local control (LC), pelvic control (PC), overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and late morbidity (CTCAE v 3.0) were computed. Results: Median age was 48 (23–82) years. FIGO1994 stage distribution was: IB1 68% and IB2 32%; 41% of the entire cohort had nodal metastases and 73% squamous-cell carcinoma. MRI-based tumor size was >40 mm in 63%. Median EBRT dose was 45 (40–50) Gy; 84% received chemotherapy. At IGBT, mean CTV-HR D90 was 93 ± 17 Gy (EQD210). D2cc for bladder was 76 ± 14 Gy, rectum 66 ± 11 Gy, sigmoid 66 ± 10 Gy, bowel 67 ± 7 Gy (EQD23). At 43-months median follow-up, 9% of patients had systemic, 6% paraaortic, 3% pelvic-nodal and 2% local failure. Five-year LC was 98%, PC 96%, CSS 90%, OS 83%. Intestinal G3-–4 morbidity was 8%, urinary 7% and vaginal 0%. Conclusions: Chemoradiation with IGBT for FIGO1994 stage IB cervical cancer leads to excellent loco-regional control with limited morbidity. In IB node-negative disease, it can be regarded equivalent to surgery in terms of oncologic outcome. In tumors with unfavorable pre-treatment characteristics, chemoradiation is the first choice to avoid combining surgery with adjuvant therapy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)24-31
Number of pages8
JournalRadiotherapy and Oncology
Volume157
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2021

Keywords

  • Brachytherapy
  • Cervix cancer
  • Image guided brachytherapy
  • Radiotherapy Dosage
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Female
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Chemoradiotherapy

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