Increases in cervical cancer survival welcomed by Middlesbrough woman
It's with better usage of existing drugs
A Teesside woman who beat cervical cancer is welcoming the news that better use of existing drugs is said to be increasing survival chances.
Scientists found after five years, 80 percent of patients who received a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy were alive.
Leanne Sewell is from Middlesbrough and said: "The research is incredible and really important to people who are going through it now because it's the use of existing drugs, I assume there won't be long trial periods like there would be with new medications. It's just a different way of doing things with existing drugs so it means it could make an impact on people a lot sooner which is obviously so important.
"I was diagnosed aged 26 after my first smear test. I was very, very lucky that they caught it super early and that I was able to have laser treatment to remove the cancer and the clear margins, and because I caught it so early, my fertility was preserved and I went on to have two beautiful children.
"I'm forever grateful for the teams at North Tees for being so proactive with me, seeing me so quickly and treating me so gently. I'm a success story but sadly there's so many women that aren't. The important thing for me is to always raise the importance of going for your smear test. I know there's a lot of horror stories but they're generally quick and easy.
"I think at the time when I was looking into the research it was all very frightening because you'd hear the words like radiotherapy, chemotherapy and there's other treatments that can remove the entire cervix, which would make having children in the future impossible. I think now to hear there's still so much research it gives me hope that there'll be more success stories like mine.
"I think upon any body hearing the word 'cancer' or even 'potential cancer', your brain immediately goes into the worst case scenario. I think that's a perfectly natural and normal of a response but to see all this research come out, to know things are being done behind the scenes, to make your chances of survival better, will of course give people hope."
The study
Treatment with existing drugs before standard treatment for cervical cancer may lead to a 35% reduction in the risk of death or the return of cancer, a study has suggested.
Researchers assessed whether a short course of induction chemotherapy (IC) - using a drug to destroy as many cancer cells as possible - before chemoradiation (CRT) could reduce rates of relapse and death.
They found that after five years, 80% of those who received IC plus CRT - a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy - were alive and 73% had not seen their cancer return or spread.
In the standard treatment group, 72% were alive and 64% had not seen their cancer return or spread.
Dr Mary McCormack, lead investigator of the trial from UCL Cancer Institute and UCLH, said: "Our trial shows that this short course of additional chemotherapy delivered immediately before the standard CRT can reduce the risk of the cancer returning or death by 35%.
"This is the biggest improvement in outcome in this disease in over 20 years.
"I'm incredibly proud of all the patients who participated in the trial; their contribution has allowed us to gather the evidence needed to improve treatment of cervical cancer patients everywhere.
"We couldn't have done this without the generous support of Cancer Research UK."
Cervical cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women in their early 30s, with around 3,200 new cases each year in the UK.
Since 1999, CRT has been the standard treatment, but despite improvements in radiation therapy techniques cancer returns in up to 30% of cases.
According to Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, the five-year survival rate for cervical cancer is around 70%.
Over 10 years, 500 patients took part in the Interlace trial at hospitals in the UK, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil.
They had been diagnosed with cervical cancer which was large enough to be seen without a microscope but had not spread to other parts of the body.
Because the drugs required for IC, carboplatin and paclitaxel, are cheap, accessible and already approved for use in patients, the researchers say they could be incorporated into standard of care treatment relatively quickly.
Professor Jonathan Ledermann, senior author of the results from UCL Cancer Institute, said the findings were "an important advance in treatment".
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: "Timing is everything when you're treating cancer. The simple act of adding induction chemotherapy to the start of chemoradiation treatment for cervical cancer has delivered remarkable results in this trial.
"A growing body of evidence is showing the value of additional rounds of chemotherapy before other treatments like surgery and radiotherapy in several other cancers.
"Not only can it reduce the chances of cancer coming back, it can be delivered quickly using drugs already available worldwide.
"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."
The preliminary results were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress.