Chemotherapy for recurrent cervical cancer

ObjectiveTo give an overview of chemotherapy schemes used in recurrent cervical cancer.MethodsA pubmed search was performed using chemotherapy and recurrent cervical cancer including articles until April 2007.ResultsMost recent articles and articles of interest are discussed.ConclusionSingle agent cisplatin (50 mg/m2) remains the current standard for recurrent cervical cancer. Numerous chemotherapeutic agents have been tested but did not show convincing evidence of improved survival rates, except for the GOG 179 study which showed an improved survival for the combination of cisplatin and topotecan compared with single agent cisplatin. However, nearly 60% of patients in both groups received prior cisplatinum therapy as a radiosensitizer, which could be responsible for the development of platinum resistance, causing lower response and survival rates in the single platinum group. Hence, the apparent benefit in the doublet group is maybe just a reflection from the change in primary therapy and patient population.It is hoped that current trials comparing standard therapy with other single or doublet chemotherapeutic regimens or that the use of molecular-targeted agents will give us promising therapeutic options in the future.