Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Consisting of Cisplatin and Nab-paclitaxel Improves the Complete Remission Rate of Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer Patients

Abstract

Background: This study was aimed to determine the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of nab-paclitaxel and cisplatin (NACT-nPC) in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.Materials and Methods: The consecutive, newly diagnosed, non-metastatic and locally advanced cervical cancer patients were retrospectively recruited between October 2016 and June 2020 in our hospital. All patients received concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone or following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients were divided into two groups: one receiving NACT-nPC, and the control group receiving no or other regimes of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We compared the complete remission rate of primary tumor at the end of external radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy between the two groups. Results: A total of 198 patients were enrolled in this study, including 60 in NACT-nPC group and 138 in control group. At the end of external radiotherapy, 27 patients in NACT-nPC group and 32 patients in control group achieved complete remission (P = 0.002). At the end of chemoradiotherapy, 56 patients in NACT-nPC group and 114 patients in control group achieved complete remission (P = 0.033). The acute side effects above grade 3 in NACT-nPC group was 41.7% (25/60) and manageable, lower than control group which was 77/138 (55.8%).Conclusions: NACT-nPC can improve the complete response rate of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy, and the toxicity is tolerable. Furthermore, we suspect the NACT-nPC can improve the survival of the patients. However, further prospective studies are needed to confirm this result.