Original scientific paper
Hemoglobin level and neoadjuvant chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma
Višnja Matković
; Department of Gynecologic Oncology, University Medical Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Vesna Stepanić
; Department of Gynecologic Oncology, University Medical Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Ante Ćorušić
; Department of Gynecologic Oncology, University Medical Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Jadranka Ilić-Forko
; Department of Gynecologic Oncology, University Medical Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Joško Lešin
; Department of Gynecologic Oncology, University Medical Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Hemoglobin level is a very important prognostic factor in patients with gynecological carcinomas. Anemia in patients with cervical carcinoma occurs frequently and is due to the aggressive biological potential of a tumor as well as because of the poor response of patients to radiation therapy. Chemoradiation is a standard treatment followed by surgery in patients with locally advanced cervical carcinomas. Good overall results after such treatment, good quality of life, and almost no recidivism have established this method as a treatment of choice for patients with locally advanced cervical carcinomas.
Sixty-four female patients with cervical carcinoma underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiation, followed by radical hysterectomy at the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, University Medical Center in Zagreb. The stages of the disease ranged from FIGO stage Ib1 to FIGO stage IIIa. Histopathological findings were squamous cell carcinoma and glandular carcinoma of the cervix. The ECOG performance status was graduated from 0 to 1.
Neoadjuvant chemoradiation regimen included cisplatin (40 mg/m² once a week for 4 weeks) with concomitant radiotherapy (40 Gy total pelvic + brach therapy). Furthermore, the time interval between chemoradiation and surgery was evaluated. Response to chemoradiation therapy was observed, and the hemoglobin level and general conditions (according to the ECOG performance status) were evaluated.
All the 64 patients had chemoradiation therapy prior to radical surgery. The median dosage at point A was 77.28 Gy and the median duration time of chemoradiation was 34.37 days. The time interval from chemoradiation to radical surgery was approximately 34.4 days. Hemoglobin levels decreased from 120.7 to 108.7 g/l at the end of concomitant chemoradiation.
The mean tumor diameter was significantly decreased after neoadjuvant chemoradiation, and we classified the results after chemoradiation therapy as complete remission, partial remission, and stabilization of the disease, according to the WHO response criteria with respect to the size of a residual tumor. After chemoradiation and surgery, the hemoglobin level and long-term survival were evaluated.
The correlation between the hemoglobin level and long-term survival after neoadjuvant chemoradiation and radical surgery in patients with different stages of cervical cancer was studied. We found that hemoglobin level could be a prognostic factor, but mostly, along with other prognostic factors, such as ECOG performance status, stage of the disease, dosage at point A, and interval between chemoradiation and surgery. However, we observed that the cellular types of tumor were of no significance.
Keywords
chemoradiation; cervical carcinoma; hemoglobin level
Hrčak ID:
279196
URI
Publication date:
27.11.2008.
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