Clinical value of concurrent radiochemotherapy in cervical cancer and comparison of ultrasonography findings before and after radiochemotherapy

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Herein, we investigated the clinical value of concurrent radiochemotherapy for patients with advanced cervical cancer and its effects on adverse clinical symptoms. Forty patients with cervical cancer were recruited from January 2011 to January 2014 for this study. Participants were randomly allocated into a test or control group, with 20 patients in each group. Patients in the test group were treated with concurrent radiochemotherapy, whereas patients in the control group received only traditional radiotherapy. At the end of the observation period, clinical efficacy in the two groups was compared. Patients were followed up for 2 years, and the rates of recurrence, survival, and complications were compared; ultrasonographic findings before and after radiotherapy were also correlated. Patients in the test group who received concurrent radiochemotherapy showed significantly higher clinical efficacy than the control group at the end of treatment cycles. After 2 years of follow-up, the rates of recurrence, mortality, and complications were all significantly lower in the test group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Comparison of ultrasonographic findings before and after radiochemotherapy showed that the size of the tumor was significantly smaller in patients after concurrent radiochemotherapy. Compared with traditional radiotherapy, concurrent radiochemotherapy significantly improved clinical outcomes in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Concurrent radiochemotherapy also enhanced the rate of survival and decreased the rate of relapse, with enhanced clinical safety and no significant side effects. Thus, concurrent radiochemotherapy can be more broadly applied in the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.

Evaluation of the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancer using diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient

“…The increases of ADC values were observed in non-small-cell lung cancer during CRT 16. Yan et al have demonstrated that tumor volume is significantly smaller in cervical cancer patients after concurrent CRT treatment 17. DWI is based on the diffusion motion of water molecules and can provide quantitative measurement of ADC, which is thought to be influenced by cellular density in solid tissues.…”