UCL study finds use of existing drugs improves cervical cancer outcomes

25 Oct 2023
www.pmlive.com
Clinical ResultPhase 3Radiation Therapy
UCL study finds use of existing drugs improves cervical cancer outcomes
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Source: PMLiVE
Researchers from University College London (UCL) and UCL’s London Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) have found that better use of existing drugs improved survival rates and decreased the recurrence of cervical cancer.
Funded by Cancer Research UKCancer Research UK and the UCL Cancer Trials Centre, the phase 3 INTERLACE trial assessed whether the rates of relapse and death among locally advanced cervical cancer patients reduced after a short course of induction chemotherapy (IC) prior to chemo-radiation (CRT).
Responsible for around 3,200 new cases in the UK each year, cervical cancer is a cancer found anywhere in the cervix and commonly occurs in women in their thirties or younger.
Over ten years, 500 patients with cervical cancer participated in the trial across hospitals in the UK, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil.
Approximately 250 participants were randomly assigned to receive either CRT (external radiation with weekly cisplatin and brachytherapy) or an initial six-week course of IC (carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy) followed by the same CRT.
Allocated to a control group, another 250 patients received standard CRT.
The trial results revealed that 80% of patients who received IC plus CRT were alive after five years and 73% had no recurrence of their cancer or spread.
In comparison to the control group, 72% of patients were alive and 64% had not seen their cancer return or spread.
Presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress on 22 October 2023, the results confirmed that “additional chemotherapy delivered immediately before the standard CRT [could] reduce the risk of the cancer returning or death by 35%,” according to Dr Mary McCormack, lead investigator, UCL Cancer InstituteCancer Institute and UCLH.
“This is the biggest improvement in outcome in this disease in over 20 years,” she added.
Experts suggest that IC drugs could be incorporated into standard of care treatment relatively quickly as they are cheap, accessible and already approved for use.
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director, research and innovation, at Cancer Research UKCancer Research UK, said: “We’re excited for the improvements this trial could bring to cervical cancer treatment and hope short courses of induction chemotherapy will be rapidly adopted in the clinic.”
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