Impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in improving operative intervention in the management of cervical cancer in low resource setting: a preliminary report

Abstract

There is paucity of data on interventions to improve cancer outcome in the low-resource setting. This study aims to determine the effect of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NACT) in improving operative outcomes of cervical cancer. This was a longitudinal intervention study of patients diagnosed with FIGO stage IIB - IIIA cervical cancer that had NACT. Patients were re-evaluated after treatment with 4 cycles of chemotherapy for operability. McNemar test was used to determine changes in operability of the tumour. There was a significant difference in the number of patients that converted from inoperable to operable tumor post-chemotherapy. This study shows some promise for NACT for FIGO stage IIB - IIIA cancer of the cervix, especially in low-resource settings, where radiotherapy is scarce.