Symptoms’ resolution, adverse events profile and 1-year survival rate associated with different cervical cancer therapies among patients receiving care in two Nigerian tertiary hospitals

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the symptoms’ resolution, adverse events (AEs) profile and 1-year survival rate associated with different cervical cancer (CC) therapies among patients receiving care in two Nigerian tertiary hospitals. Methods This study employed a prospective longitudinal design with a 12-month patient follow-up. It was conducted at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto in Sokoto state and Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria in Kaduna state, North-Western Nigeria. Data of all the 157 eligible CC patients who came to the Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology clinics of the hospitals were collected at baseline and after the first, third and last treatment courses/radiation fractions. Data analysis was done with appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS V. 20 for windows. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Key findings Patients who received chemoradiation therapy (CRT), 29 (100.0%), adjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRTS), 9 (100.0%), adjuvant chemotherapy (CTS), 6 (100.0%) and chemotherapy (CT), 27 (28.1%) (P < 0.001) reported per vaginal bleeding (PVB) to have been completely stopped after therapy. Patients who received CT 4 (9.8%) experienced grade 3 anaemia, leucopaenia was experienced by patients who received CT 27 (54.0%) and CRT 20 (52.6%), P = 0.004. Grade 2 creatinine increase was observed in patients who received CRT 3 (8.1%) and CT 2 (3.1%), P = 0.013. There was no significant association between the therapy option received and 1-year survival rate of the patients within the clinical stage at P < 0.05. However, age (OR = 0.257, P = 0.042), number of comorbidities (OR = 0.123, P = 0.039) and number of complications (OR = 0.013, P < 0.001) were found to be the independent predictors of survival. Conclusions Chemoradiation and adjuvant therapies were found to be associated with the best resolution of symptoms. CT and CRT had high frequencies and severities of AEs. Therapy options received by the patients were not associated with their 1-year survival rates within clinical stages.