Article Text
Abstract
Objectives: To determine the impact of c-erb-B2 overexpression on disease-free survival (DFS) and local relapse in patients with advanced cervical cancer (CC) receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy treatment.
Methods: A total of 136 patients with advanced CC (FIGO stage: IB2-IIA [12]; IIB [34]; IIIB [71]; IVA [19]; including both epidermoid [86] and adenocarcinoma [14]) were analyzed to determine c-erb-B2 levels by immunohistochemistry (c-erb-B2 antibody; Dako, Glostrup, Denmark). Only c-erb-B2+++ biopsies were considered positive. All patients received pelvic radiotherapy, brachytherapy, and concurrent chemotherapy with 2 different regimens: 48 patients were treated with tegafur (800 mg/d orally) and 88 with tegafur (same doses) plus 5 cycles of weekly cisplatin 40 mg/m2/wk intravenously.
Results: A total of 32 (23.5%) biopsies were considered c-erb-B2-positive. Three-year and 5-year DFS were 61% and 58% for c-erb-B2-negative patients and 36% and 36% for c-erB2-positive patients, respectively (P = 0.02). Patients were stratified in 4 groups according to their c-erb-B2 status and whether they received cisplatin. The group of patients with c-erb-B2 overexpression that did not receive platinum treatment had a higher rate of pelvic relapse (P < 0.0001), associated with a decreased DFS (P = 0.0014).
Conclusions: c-erb-B2 overexpression may imply a poor prognosis for patients with advanced CC. Treatment with cisplatin-based radiochemotherapy improved outcome in these patients.
- c-erb-B2 status
- Disease-free survival
- Local relapse rate
- Advanced cervical cancer
- Chemoradiotherapy
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Footnotes
Content: Cisplatin-based radiochemotherapy for c-erbB-2 + cervical cancer.