title: Novel chemotherapy approaches in chemoradiation protocols.
abstract: Locally advanced cervical carcinoma had been treated with radiation therapy until 1999, when five different large clinical trials showed an overall survival benefit when chemotherapy was administered concomitantly with radiotherapy. The chemotherapy agents used in these trials were cisplatin, cisplatin combined with fluorouracil or hydroxyurea. Weekly cisplatin (40 mg/m(2)) achieved the best responses, even when compared with the combination with fluorouracil. These results led the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) to recommend platinum-based chemotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced cervical carcinoma. Other cytotoxic agents have been tried in combination with radiotherapy for the management of the disease, including carboplatin, paclitaxel, gemcitabine and even topotecan. Gemcitabine has shown promising results and the combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin has proved safe and effective. However, to date, there has been no agent or combination of agents to have shown superiority over weekly cisplatin. Biologic agents such as bevacizumab, cetuximab, sorafenib and erlotinib are currently being tried in different trials in combination with radiotherapy and cisplatin. Celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor was evaluated in an RTOG study in combination with cisplatin and flourouracil with radiation therapy with no apparent effect on DFS and poor rates of locoregional control. Chemoradiation is the current standard therapy in locally advanced cervical carcinoma. The integration of novel agents will be established by the ongoing clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecologic Oncology, M. D. Anderson International España, Madrid, Spain. lgonzalez@mdanderson.es
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: González-Cortijo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carballo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Martín
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Corraliza
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chiva de Agustín
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lapuente Sastre
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: García García
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rojo Sebastián
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hornedo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colomer
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*