title: A regional cooperative clinical study of radiotherapy for cervical cancer in east and south-east Asian countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Radiotherapy differed widely in east and south-east Asia because of technical, cultural, and socio-economic differences. With the purpose of standardizing radiotherapy for cervical cancer in the region, an international clinical study was conducted.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven institutions in eight Asian countries participated in the study. Between 1996 and 1998, 210 patients with stage IIIB cervical cancer were enrolled. Patients were treated with a combination of external beam radiotherapy (total dose, 50Gy) and either high-dose-rate (HDR) or low-dose-rate (LDR) intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) according to the institutional practice. The planned point A dose was 20-28Gy/4 fractions for HDR-ICBT and 30-40Gy/1-2 fractions for LDR-ICBT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hundred patients were treated with HDR-ICBT and 110 were treated with LDR-ICBT. The ICBT doses actually delivered to point A ranged widely: 12-32Gy in the HDR group and 26-52.7Gy in the LDR group. The 5-year follow-up rate among the countries differed greatly, from 29% to 100%. The 5-year major complication rates were 6% in the HDR group and 10% in the LDR group. The 5-year overall survival rates were 51.1% in the HDR group and 57.5% in the LDR group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although there were several problems with treatment compliance and patients' follow-up, the study suggests that the protocols provided favorable outcomes with acceptable rates of late complications in the treatment of advanced cervical cancer in east and south-east Asia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Radiation Oncology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Juying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Raden
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Susworo
authors.forename: Nana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Supriana
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suto
authors.forename: Yuzuru
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Chul-Koo
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Fuad B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Miriam J C
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Calaguas
authors.forename: Rey H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: de Los Reyes
authors.forename: Yaowalak
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chansilpa
authors.forename: Kullathom
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thephamongkhol
authors.forename: Nguyen Ba
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Duc
authors.forename: To Anh
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Dung
authors.forename: Hirohiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsujii
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001210:Asia, Southeastern; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000379:methods; D005202:Asia, Eastern; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D015996:Survival Rate; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*