Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of concurrent chemoradiotherapy involving weekly administration of cisplatin and paclitaxel for the treatment of locally advanced cervical carcinoma in Japanese women. Twenty Japanese patients were registered for this phase I study. Radiation therapy was performed using external irradiation and high-dose rate intracavitary irradiation of the pelvis. Chemotherapy was performed once a week until termination of the radiation therapy. The dose of cisplatin was decided as 30 mg/m², and the initial dose of paclitaxel was set as 30 mg/m², with a planned incremental increase of 10 mg/m² up to 70 mg/m². When 3 to 6 patients were registered at each dose level and dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was noted in more than 3 patients, the dose level was assumed to be the maximum tolerated dose. Among the 20 patients, 1 patient experienced DLT during 2 courses because of dehydration and arrhythmia. In another patient, chemotherapy was discontinued after 4 courses because of a hypersensitivity reaction to paclitaxel at dose level 3. No patient experienced DLT resulting from hematologic toxicities. All patients underwent radiation therapy according to schedule without any discontinuations. A complete response was obtained in 16 patients. Based on the results obtained from this study, weekly administration of 30 mg/m² cisplatin and 50 mg/m² paclitaxel with concurrent chemoradiotherapy can be considered a tolerable and safe dose for the treatment of locally advanced cervical carcinoma in Japanese women.