Jemds.com Original Article J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci./eISSN- 2278-4802, pISSN- 2278-4748/ Vol. 05/ Issue 31/ Apr. 18, 2016 Page 1667 A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF RADIOTHERAPY WITH CONCURRENT WEEKLY CISPLATIN VERSUS CONCURRENT WEEKLY PACLITAXEL IN PATIENTS WITH LOCALLY ADVANCED CARCINOMA CERVIX Neerja Maurya 1 , Laxmi Singotia 2 , A. Saxena 3 , S. Rawat 4 , T. Pounikar 5 1 Senior Resident, Department of Radiotherapy, N.S.C.B. Medical College, Jabalpur. 2 Associate Professor & HOD, Department of Radiotherapy, N.S.C.B. Medical College, Jabalpur. 3 Associate Professor, Department of Radiotherapy, N.S.C.B. Medical College, Jabalpur. 4 Associate Professor, Department of Radiotherapy, N.S.C.B. Medical College, Jabalpur. 5 Assistant Professor, Department of Radiotherapy, N.S.C.B. Medical College, Jabalpur. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES A prospective study to compare weekly cisplatin versus weekly paclitaxel as concurrent chemotherapy with standard radiotherapy in locally advanced carcinoma cervix. METHODS The study was carried out between November 2013 and August 2104; 60 newly diagnosed women with histopathologically proven squamous cell carcinoma cervix (FIGO stage IB2 to IVA were enrolled into this study and randomized to receive on weekly basis either 40 mg/m 2 cisplatin (Control Group: 30 patients) or 50 mg/m 2 paclitaxel (Study Group: 30 patients) concurrently with radiotherapy total dose for radiotherapy 80 Gy for both the groups (50 Gy from EBRT and 30 Gy from HDR brachytherapy). Followup time was 6 months. RESULTS The mean number of chemotherapy cycles was comparable with 86.7% and 80% of patients receiving 5 doses in control and study group respectively. At the completion of treatment 20 patients (66.7%) in control group and 15 patients (50%) in study group had complete response; 10 patients (33.3%) in control group and 15 patients (50%) in study group had partial response. After 6 months of followup, 23 patients (76.7%) in control group and 19 (63.3%) patients of study group had complete response and 7 (23.4%) patients of control group and 10 (33.4%) patients of study group had partial response respectively. One patient of study group developed progressive disease during followup period. CONCLUSION This small prospective study shows that weekly paclitaxel does not provide any clinical advantage over weekly cisplatin for concurrent chemoradiation for locally advanced carcinoma cervix and associated with more gastrointestinal and haematological toxicities. KEYWORDS Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Toxicity, Response. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Maurya N, Singotia L, Saxena A, et al. A comparative evaluation of radiotherapy with concurrent weekly cisplatin versus concurrent weekly paclitaxel in patients with locally advanced carcinoma cervix. J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci. 2016;5(31):1667-1672, DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2016/393 INTRODUCTION Worldwide, cervical cancer is both the fourth-most common cause of cancer and deaths from cancer in women. [1] In 2012, 528,000 cases of cervical cancer were estimated to have occurred with 266,000 deaths. [1] It is the second-most common cause of female-specific cancer after breast cancer, accounting for around 8% of both total cancer cases and total cancer deaths in women. [2] In developing countries, the incidence of cancer cervix is increasing and is the leading cause of cancer mortality. Financial or Other, Competing Interest: None. Submission 29-02-2016, Peer Review 24-03-2016, Acceptance 30-03-2016, Published 18-04-2016. Corresponding Author: Dr. Neerja Maurya, 167, MIG, Dhanwantari Nagar, Jabalpur. E-mail: neerjamaurya2311@gmail.com DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2016/393 The disproportionately high burden of carcinoma cervix in developing countries is largely due to lack of screening that allows detection of precancerous and early stage carcinoma cervix, so most of the cases present at advanced stages (FIGO stage III/IV). Radiation therapy is a clinical modality dealing with the use of ionizing radiations in the treatment of patients with malignant neoplasm (And occasionally benign diseases). The aim of radiation therapy is to deliver a precisely measured dose of irradiation to a defined tumour volume with as minimal damage as possible to surrounding healthy tissue, resulting in eradication of the tumour, a high quality of life and prolongation of survival at competitive cost. [3] Patients with carcinoma cervix usually present with locally advanced disease (FIGO stage IIB, III and IV) in which surgery has higher morbidity. Radiotherapy plays a major role in management of these patients.