New Cervical Cancer Therapy Cuts Death Risk by 40%
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A new cervical cancer treatment regimen has shown a 40% reduction in mortality risk, marking the most significant advancement against the disease in 25 years, according to researchers from University College London.
Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women globally, sees about 660,000 new cases and 350,000 deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the UK, there are roughly 3,200 new cases and 800 deaths each year, with many patients in their 30s. Despite improvements in treatment, the disease recurs in about 30% of cases.
A new treatment, tested in a trial across five countries, including the UK, Mexico, India, Italy, and Brazil, involves a brief chemotherapy course before the standard chemoradiation treatment. The phase-three clinical trial, led by University College London (UCL), showed a 40% reduction in death risk and a 35% reduction in cancer recurrence within five years. These findings, published in The Lancet, represent a major leap forward in cervical cancer care.
Dr. Mary McCormack, the trial’s lead investigator at UCL, described the discovery as the most significant breakthrough in cervical cancer treatment since 1999. “This is the biggest gain in survival since the adoption of chemoradiation,” she said. "It is well-tolerated and allows women to return to their normal lives quickly."
The study, funded by Cancer Research UK and the UCL Cancer Trials Centre, involved 500 women. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either the new chemotherapy regime or the standard chemoradiation treatment. The group receiving the new treatment underwent six weeks of chemotherapy followed by the usual chemoradiation. The control group only received the standard treatment.
After five years, 80% of patients in the new treatment group were still alive, and 72% had no cancer recurrence or spread. In comparison, the standard treatment group had a 72% survival rate, with 64% showing no cancer recurrence.
Abbie Halls, a 37-year-old patient who received the new treatment after being diagnosed at age 27, expressed her gratitude: “I’ve been cancer-free for over nine years now, and I’m not sure if I’d be here without the treatment I received.”
The trial’s results have prompted calls for the treatment to be implemented widely. Dr. McCormack emphasized that the approach uses existing, affordable drugs and could be easily adopted. “There’s no reason this shouldn’t be offered to all patients undergoing chemoradiation for this cancer,” she said.
Dr. Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of research and innovation, praised the results, highlighting that adding induction chemotherapy to chemoradiation could enhance treatment outcomes globally.