title: Concomitant radiochemotherapy plus surgery in locally advanced cervical cancer: update of clinical outcome and cyclooxygenase-2 as predictor of treatment susceptibility.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We have updated our findings on the efficacy of concomitant radiochemotherapy plus radical surgery in a larger series of patients (n = 54) with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC). We also investigated the role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in this clinical setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Radiotherapy was administered to the whole pelvic region (1.8 Gy/day, totaling 39.6 Gy) in combination with cisplatin (20 mg/m2) and 5-fluorouracil (1,000 mg/m2) (both on days 1-4 and 27-30). Radical surgery was performed 5-6 weeks after the end of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A clinical complete or partial response was observed in all 53 evaluable patients (75.5 and 24.5%, respectively). At pathological examination, 23 of 51 patients (45.1%) undergoing radical surgery showed complete response to treatment, 18 patients (35.3%) only had microscopic residual disease, 6 patients (11.7%) had a partial response and 4 (7.8%) had no change in their disease. When logistic regression was applied, the FIGO stage (chi2 = 5.28, p = 0.021) and tumor to stroma COX-2 ratio (chi2 = 4.72, p = 0.029) retained an independent role in the prediction of the pathologic response to treatment. The 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 75.2%, with local relapse-free survival of 86.2% and metastasis-free interval of 89.9% at 3 years. Cases with a high COX-2 ratio showed a shorter DFS than cases with a low COX-2 ratio (p = 0.016). A direct association was shown between COX-2 ratio values and risk of recurrence, as assessed by Cox analysis using COX-2 ratio values as a continuous covariate (chi2 = 3.94, p = 0.047).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms the possibility of achieving a very high rate of pathological responses in LACC patients administered chemoradiation plus surgery (3-year DFS 75.2%). Moreover, COX-2 status may play a role in the prognostic characterization and prediction of tumor response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Mariagrazia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Distefano
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrandina
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smaniotto
authors.forename: Alessandro Pasquale
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Margariti
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zannoni
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Macchia
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manfredi
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Mangiacotti
authors.forename: Numa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cellini
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scambia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000379:methods; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000032:analysis*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000032:analysis*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil