After evaluation of cervical cancer screening, cancer stage IV is said to exist if the cancer has surpassed cervical to adjacent organs, such as the rectum or bladder (stage IVA), or the cancer has spread to distant locations in the body which may include the bones, lungs lung or liver (stage IVB).
Cervical cancer is diagnosed at this stage are often difficult to treat, and a small percentage of patients who recover from the disease.
A variety of factors ultimately influence a patient's decision to receive treatment of cancer. The purpose of receiving cancer treatment may be to improve symptoms through local control of the cancer, increase a patient's chance of recovery, or prolong the survival of patients.
The potential benefits of receiving cancer treatment must be more careful and well balanced with the potential risks of receiving cancer treatment.
The following is a general overview of the treatment of stage IV cervical cancer. Finally it can affect how the principles common treatment is applied to situations stage 4 cancer patients.
Most new treatments are developed in clinical trials. Clinical trial studies that evaluate the effectiveness of new drugs or treatment strategies.
Development of more effective cancer treatments requires that new and innovative therapies be evaluated with cancer patients.
Participation in a clinical trial may offer access to better treatments and advance the existing knowledge about treatment of this cancer.
Clinical trials are available for most stages of cancer. Patients interested in participating in a clinical trial should discuss the risks and benefits of clinical trials with their physician. To ensure that patients can undergo treatment properly.
Patients diagnosed with stage IV cervical cancer can be divided into two groups. Patients with limited disease locally, but involve adjacent organs in the pelvis, such as the rectum and bladder, local conditions stage IVA cervical cancer.
Other patients have disease that has spread to distant organs, most often the bones, lungs or liver, and had a metastatic stage IVB cervical cancer. Management of patients with metastatic disease IVB stage aimed at controlling symptoms and pain. After undergoing treatment for cervical cancer, the doctor will continue to follow you to check to see that the cancer has not returned or no progress.
Localized Treatment of Cervical Cancer Stage IVA
Stage IVA cervical cancer is currently best managed by a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is treatment with high energy x-rays that have the ability to kill cancer cells.Radiation therapy can be administered by a machine that aims x-rays at the body (external beam radiation) or by placing small capsules of radioactive material directly near the cervix (internal or implant radiation). Most patients will receive both types of radiation therapy during their treatment. External beam radiation therapy for cervical cancer are given on an outpatient basis for approximately 4 to 6 weeks.
During or immediately after the part of external beam radiation therapy, patients can also undergo radiation implant procedure. Placing the radiation within the cervix allows a high dose of radiation to be delivered to the cancer while reducing the radiation to the surrounding normal tissues and organs. During the procedure in the operating room, a small device placed into the cervix and the vagina, and then be done with radioactive materials.
The radioactive material is left in place while the patient remains in the hospital for 1-3 days.
This process can be done once or twice during the treatment.
The strategy of chemotherapy concurrent with radiation treatment will help because chemotherapy and radiation therapy may act together to increase cancer cell killing. Chemotherapy can also damage the cells independently of radiation therapy.
Several clinical studies conducted in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer utilizing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy has been suggested that this strategy may improve remission rates and prolong survival.
To definitively determine whether radiation therapy is given with concurrent chemotherapy is superior to radiation therapy alone, several clinical studies designed to directly compare the two treatments in patients with advanced cervical cancer.
One important clinical trial conducted by various oncology groups in the United States have shown that radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy for advanced cervical cancer is superior to treatment with radiation therapy alone.
Even patients with stage III or IVA cervical cancer have 5-year survival rate of 63% compared with 57% for patients treated with radiation therapy alone. Likelihood of cancer recurrence was 42% for patients treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy compared with 62% for those treated with radiation therapy alone.
Concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy was well tolerated except for gastrointestinal and hematological side effects are small, reversible.
However, further research is underway to determine whether additional chemotherapy drugs or radiation dose may improve the outcome of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer. At least four clinical studies have confirmed that the treatment of advanced cervical cancer with chemotherapy and radiation therapy at the same Platinol-based therapy is superior to radiation alone.
Treatment of Metastatic Stage IVB Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer that has spread to distant organs and bones harder to treat. Historically, patients with metastatic cervical cancer has been deemed incurable and rarely last more than one or two years.Some patients were offered treatment with chemotherapy for the purpose of extending the duration of their survival and reduce symptoms of progressive cancer.
Other patients are managed with an effort to reduce pain or bleeding, including local radiation therapy to the affected part of the body.
There is no good single chemotherapy approach that can increase the length of survival in patients with metastatic cervical cancer.
Unfortunately, chemotherapy is usually works for only a few months before cervical cancer begins to grow again.
Most patients still succumb to the cancer and better treatment strategies are clearly needed.Strategies to Improve Treatment
Progress has been achieved in the treatment of cervical cancer has resulted from the development of better treatment in patients with more advanced stages of cancer and participation in clinical trials.
While some progress has been made in the treatment of metastatic cervical cancer, the majority of patients still succumb to the cancer and better treatment strategies are clearly needed. Future advances in the treatment of cervical cancer will result from continued participation in appropriate clinical trials. Currently, there are several areas of active exploration aimed at improving the treatment of cervical cancer.
Supports Care
Supportive care refers to treatments designed to prevent and control the side effects of cancer and its treatment. Side effects not only cause patients discomfort, but also may prevent the optimal delivery of therapy at a dose and schedule. To achieve optimal results from treatment and improve quality of life, it is important that the side effects of cancer and its treatment appropriately managed. For more information, go to Supportive Care.
Radiation Techniques
External beam radiation therapy can be delivered more precisely to the cervix using a special CT scan and targeting computer. This capability is known as three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, or 3D-CRT. The use of 3D-CRT appears to reduce the likelihood of injury to nearby body structures, such as the bladder or rectum.
Biological Therapy
Biologic therapies are naturally occurring or synthesized substances that direct, facilitate or enhance the body's normal immune defenses.
The goal of biologic therapy is to have the patient's own immune defenses attack and destroy the cancer cells. Biological therapies include interferon, interleukin, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines. In an effort to improve survival rates, these and other agents are being tested alone or in combination with chemotherapy in clinical trials.
Phase I Trials
New chemotherapy drugs continue to be developed and evaluated in patients with recurrent cancer in a phase I clinical trials. The purpose of phase I trials is to evaluate new drugs to determine the safety and tolerability of the drug and the best way for the administration of drugs to patients.
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