Introduction/Background Cervical cancer remains to be a significant public health concern among low- to middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to determine the timing and treatment duration of definitive radiation therapy and the factors affecting its delivery to women with cervical cancer in a tertiary referral hospital in the Philippines.

Methodology This was a single center, retrospective study performed among 107 women with newly-diagnosed, biopsy-proven bulky or locally-advanced cervical cancer (FIGO 2018 stage IB3 – IVA) seen from January 1 to December 31, 2019 and received radiation therapy. Individual medical records were reviewed to retrieve demographic information, pertinent clinical data, treatment details, and disease status of each patient.

Results Out of 456 new cases referred to the subspecialty clinic, 329 (72%) were candidates for concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) and brachytherapy (BT). Only 107 (32.5%) women have received treatment at the time of the study. Among these, 51 (48%) completed treatment, while 28 (26%) received external radiation therapy only, and another 28 (26%) were still ongoing primary treatment. The median interval from first clinic consult to initiation of treatment was 85 days. The median total treatment duration was 81 days. Furthermore, only 4 women (8%) completed treatment within the recommended 56 days (8 weeks).

Conclusion This study showed that there was substantial delay in initiation and protraction in delivery of definitive radiation therapy in our cohort. Due to the severe imbalance of patients with ideal and protracted treatment duration, no factors were identified affecting radiation therapy delivery. Apart from supplementing the existing institutional infrastructure, other opportunities to improve the gaps in treatment planning and delivery were identified in this study.