There could be new hope on the horizon for women fighting cervical cancer.
Researchers investigated a new approach to treating the disease in a study funded by Cancer Research UK.
In a phase 3 trial, patients went through a short, six-week course of chemotherapy before starting standard chemoradiation (CRT) treatment.
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This approach was found to slash death risk by 40%, and it also reduced the likelihood of the disease returning or relapsing by 35%.
After five years, 80% of trial participants who received the induction chemo session followed by CRT survived, and 73% reported that their cancer had not returned or spread.
Dr. Mary McCormack, PhD, one of the trial researchers, shared with Fox News Digital that this method led to an 8% absolute improvement in survival rates at five years.
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Over the team’s decade-long research, McCormack noted that there have been some changes in standard radiation delivery.
“As this was a randomized trial, these changes, which were incorporated into the study, were taken into account and affected both arms of the trial equally,” she said.
Based on these findings, McCormack encouraged clinicians to offer an additional short course of chemo to their patients.
“These drugs are widely available,” she said. “The trial results should be incorporated into national and international guidelines within the next few months.”
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Dr. Brian Slomovitz, director of gynecologic oncology and co-chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Florida, called these results “very compelling.”
“They demonstrate a significant overall survival and progression-free survival advantage in patients who suffer from this disease,” he told Fox News Digital.
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The doctor did note a few limitations, however, including that the trial was not done in a “United States-like setting.”
“This may have led to under-performance of the control arm,” Slomovitz said. “Also, radiation techniques and the availability of therapies after progression (especially immunotherapy) have improved since this trial.”
“I am really not sure whether it’s applicable for patients in the U.S.,” he continued. “I look forward to future studies to hopefully confirm these results.”
There are about 11,500 new cervical cancer diagnoses in the U.S. each year and about 4,000 women die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
To prevent cervical cancer, experts recommend getting vaccinated against types of HPV (human papillomavirus) that can cause it.
The CDC also recommends that women get routine Pap smears and HPV screenings.
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