Impact of Treatment Duration on Cervical Cancer Outcomes: Results froma Single Institution

Introduction: Treatment duration has always been related to treatment outcomes in cervical cancer. Our study is aiming to evaluate this parameter and its effect on treatments’ results in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with concurrent chemo radiation. Patients and methods: Between January 2011 and December 2011, all patients diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated with concurrent chemo radiotherapy were retrieved. Treatment duration was calculated from the first day of EBRT to the last day of brachytherapy or EBRT, whichever was last to complete, Fifty-six days (8 weeks) was used as a limit, we analyzed the impact of treatment duration on the overall survival and local control. Results: The median time to complete pelvis RT was 37 days (34-42 days). A median of 15 days (13-26 days) between the last day of Pelvic RT and the start of the first Brachytherapy fraction (Pelvis RT-BT interval) was noted. The median time to complete EBRT in association with BT was55 days (50-69 days) while the median total treatment duration was 61 days (53-71 days). At 3 years the overall survival (OS) rate of the studied cohort was 89.8% and local control (LC) rate was 80.8%. In the univariate analysis, total treatment duration (>56 days) was found to be a significant factor impacting both OS (P=0.014)), and LC (P=0.014). Also in the multivariate analysis, total treatment duration was associated independently with prognosis, and affected both OS (hazard ratio [HR], 2.8; 95% CI, 1.07-7.54, P=0.035) and LC (hazard ratio [HR] 3.2; 95% CI, 1.57-6.64, P=0.001). Conclusion: Extended treatment duration significantly affects treatment outcomes in cervical cancer, efforts should be made to shorten it in a way to improve cancer prognosis.