Clinical implications of gemcitabine in the treatment of cervical cancer

ABSTRACTOverall, cervical carcinoma is the seventh most frequent malignancy and the second most common cancer among women, with an estimated 493,000 new cases and 274,000 deaths recorded in 2002. In the last few years significant advances in the management of this cancer have been achieved, including confirmation that a combination chemotherapy regimen containing cisplatin is superior in terms of overall survival than single-agent cisplatin for treating metastatic or recurrent disease. Likewise, for localised advanced disease, cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiation has been proven to be superior to radiation treatment alonefi This review analyses data from trials that have investigated gemcitabine either alone or in combination with cisplatin for treating metastatic and recurrent disease, as well as the use of radiation and cisplatin for locally advanced disease.