Patterns of care for cervical cancer in Auckland, New Zealand, 2003–2007

Abstract

Both radiotherapy and brachytherapy utilization rates were below optimal and are being addressed. No formal surgical or chemotherapy utilisation estimates exist for comparison; however, the use of concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy was similar to other groups. A high rate of adjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy was noted in surgically treated Stage IB patients, suggesting a need for an increased consideration of primary chemoradiotherapy in these patients to avoid the unnecessary toxicity of trimodality therapy. Future outcome analysis is planned.

Management pathway for patients with cervical cancer in the Auckland region 2003-2007

“…There were no stage IIA patients, and two patients were clinically unstaged as the diagnosis of cervical cancer was made incidentally at the time of surgery for an unrelated indication. More detailed demographic data for the group have previously been reported 9 …”

An Alternative Triage Strategy Based on Preoperative MRI for Avoiding Trimodality Therapy in Stage IB Cervical Cancer

“…Surgery is the preferred option for patients with stage IB1 disease, whereas primary chemoradiation is the most appropriate option for those with stage IB2 disease. However, in practice, primary surgery followed by tailored adjuvant therapy is the preferred and most frequently used treatment modality for stage IB2 patients [ 17 - 19 ]. Therefore, a considerable proportion of patients undergo adjuvant therapy following surgery and risk high morbidity rates as a result of trimodality therapy [ 10 , 20 , 21 ].…”