To analyse the patterns of care and clinical outcomes of patients diagnosed with cervical cancer International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IVA treated at a tertiary care centre in South India.

The electronic medical records of 2,476 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer at a tertiary care institution between January 2005 and December 2018 were reviewed. Among them, 96 patients diagnosed with histologically proven carcinoma cervix stage IVA established by either cystoscopy or proctoscopy were included. Four patients who did not receive treatment at the study centre were excluded and 92 patients were available for final analysis.

The median follow-up period was 12 months (2–131 months). Of the 92 patients, 59 patients (64·13%) received radiation therapy (RT) alone, 22 patients (23·9%) received chemoradiation (CRT), three patients (3·26%) received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by RT, one (1·08%) received NACT followed by CRT, four patients (4·35%) received chemotherapy alone, while three (3·26%) were offered best supportive care. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 12 months (95% CI: 9·6–14·4 months) and median overall survival (OS) was 25 months (95% CI: 16·6–33·4 months). The 2-year and 3-year PFS was 30 and 20%, respectively, and the OS was 50 and 32%, respectively.

The management of stage IVA cervical cancer needs to be individualised to achieve a fine balance between local control, toxicity, and quality of life. RT is the mainstay of treatment with concurrent chemotherapy in carefully selected patients. Involvement of palliative care team early in the course of treatment adds a holistic approach to the continuum of oncological care.

Optimal preoperative therapy regimen in the treatment of resectable retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS) remains unclear. This study compares the impact of preoperative radiation, chemoradiation and chemotherapy on overall survival (OS) in RPS patients.

The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried for patients with non-metastatic, resectable RPS (2006–15). The primary endpoint was OS, evaluated by Kaplan–Meier method, log-rank test, Cox multivariable analysis and propensity score matching.

A total of 1,253 patients met the inclusion criteria, with 210 patients (17%) receiving chemoradiation, 850 patients (68%) receiving radiation and 193 patients (15%) receiving chemotherapy. On Cox multivariable analysis, when compared to preoperative chemoradiation, preoperative radiation was not associated with improved OS (hazards ratio [HR] 0·98, 95% CI 0·76–1·25, p = 0·84), while preoperative chemotherapy was associated with worse OS (HR 1·64, 95% CI 1·24–2·18, p < 0·001). Similar findings were observed in 199 and 128 matched pairs for preoperative radiation and chemotherapy, respectively, when compared to preoperative chemoradiation.

Our study suggested an OS benefit in using preoperative chemoradiation compared to chemotherapy alone, but OS outcomes were comparable between preoperative chemoradiation and radiation alone.

To analyse the presentation, treatment strategies and outcomes of neuroendocrine carcinoma of cervix treated with multi-modality approach at our institute.

The data of patients diagnosed to have cervical cancer between October 2004 and November 2018 were retrieved, and 14 patients of neuroendocrine carcinoma cervix who received treatment in our institution were identified. The patients were analysed based on demographic characteristics, disease stage, pathological characteristics, treatment and follow-up. The median overall survival and disease-free survival were calculated.

Median follow-up period was 8 months (range 1–52 months). Six patients died within 4 months of completion of treatment due to disease progression. Median overall survival was 12 months and median disease-free interval was 5·5 months. Four of the patients who underwent combined modality treatment consisting of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, concurrent chemoradiation therapy and brachytherapy are still on regular follow-up and are disease-free.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix is a rare but aggressive histological subtype. Combined modality approach with judicious use of systemic chemotherapy along with surgery and radiation therapy is essential for optimal outcomes.

The combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy is rooted in its ability to help achieve locoregional and systemic control, therefore increasing the overall disease-free survival of patients. Understanding the mechanistic actions of cytotoxic agents and their targets on the cell cycle, as well as the governing pharmacokinetic principles can improve treatment delivery. The adjuvant treatment setting can overcome barriers such as hypoxia and genetically driven treatment resistance.

The purpose of this review is to present theoretical frameworks behind the chemoradiation paradigm and to describe current chemoradiation practices in radiation oncology.

A review was conducted using the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health database (PubMed) using the following search keywords: chemoradiation, spatial cooperation, chemotherapeutic agents, pharmacokinetics, anti-vascular agents, tumour vasculature and tumour hypoxia.

Current research has reported several rationales for the beneficial combination of radiation and chemotherapy to eradicate oncological diseases. Mechanisms of action and biological approaches are showing that concurrent treatments, as well as novel agents such as anti-vascular and anti-angiogenic agents may benefit improved treatment outcomes by reducing micro hypoxic environments in tumours. In addition, chemotherapy administered in tandem with radiation enhances cell-killing effects by targeting the cell cycle.

Currently, concomitant chemoradiation using cisplatin is one of the standards of care for the management of head and neck cancer, but at the cost of increased acute toxicity. Our aim was to assess whether vinorelbine was less toxic and of at least comparable efficacy, if not better, compared with cisplatin.

A total of 72 patients with squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck region were recruited, 40 in arm A and 32 in arm B. Patients in arm A received 40 mg/m2 cisplatin weekly. Patients in arm B received 6 mg/m2 vinorelbine weekly. Both arms also received 66 Gy of radiation in conventional fractionation.

There was no statistically significant difference in response rate or toxicities between the two arms, except for nausea and/or vomiting, which was significantly less frequent in the vinorelbine arm.

Vinorelbine was as effective as cisplatin in controlling locoregional disease in locally advanced head and neck cancer, but was only marginally less toxic than cisplatin.