Cervical Cancer treatment hailed as most Remarkable Breakthrough in 20 years: Scientists

In a groundbreaking development, the INTERLACE phase III trial, sponsored by Cancer Research UK and conducted by researchers from UCL and UCLH, has unveiled promising results for the treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer. The study, spanning a decade and involving 500 patients across multiple countries, revealed that a brief course of induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by standard chemoradiation (CRT) reduced the risk of death or cancer recurrence by 35%.

Notably, patients who received IC followed by CRT exhibited a five-year survival rate of 80%, with 73% remaining free from cancer relapse, compared to 72% survival and 64% relapse-free rates in the group receiving standard CRT alone. A key advantage of this approach is the affordability and accessibility of the drugs employed in IC, carboplatin and paclitaxel, which are already approved and widely available.

Reference:

M. McCormack, D. Gallardo Rincón, G. Eminowicz, P. Diez, LBA8 A randomised phase III trial of induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation compared with chemoradiation alone in locally advanced cervical cancer: The GCIG INTERLACE trial, Annals of Oncology, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2023.10.028