title: [Chemotherapy in cervical cancer. Assessment of 267 palliative treatments and current trends (author's transl)].
abstract: Over the last 10 years 267 treatments with cervical cancer have been treated with chemotherapy in 4 anticancer centers. The analysis of these results shows: 1) 9 per cent of the treatments were discontinued because of clinical and hematological intolerance reactions; these intolerance reactions were responsible for 1 per cent of the therapeutic deaths; 2) an effect on the functional symptoms in 52 per cent of the patients with multiple drug regimens; 3) an objective global response in 18 per cent of the patients treated with single drug therapy (3 regressions greater than 50% out of 6 cases treated with cis-platinum) and in 22 per cent of the patients treated with various associations. Comparison of these results to recent data in the literature confirms:  1) the hope of improving objective results by developing more rational protocols of association, since, for the moment more active drugs are not available; 2) a much more marked chemotherapeutic action on lesions which have not  been previously irradiated (statistically significant differences in response). Chemoresistance in cervical cancers may not be as frequent or as insurmountable as generally believed. The role of chemotherapy may be visualized from: 1) the palliative point of view, for efficacy while reducing toxicity); 2) induction sequence in curative treatment programs for advanced local forms with unfavorable prognosis (logical and attractive orientation of therapeutic studies); 3) the point of view of adjuvant treatment which remains to be defined. Rigorous studies are required to assess whether chemotherapy can give eventual long term improvement in high risk cervical cancers.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000639:trends; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
vernacular_title: La chimiothérapie des cancers du col utérin. Bilan de 267 traitements palliatifs et orientations actuelles.