Treatment cuts cervical cancer deaths by 40% in ‘biggest breakthrough for decades’

A new cervical cancer treatment hailed as the biggest improvement in 20 years, cuts the risk of death by 40 per cent, according to new research.

Experts have urged the NHS to offer a new treatment process, which combines chemotherapy and radiotherapy, to all patients after a clinical trial showed patients remained disease-free for 10 years.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospital (UCLH) have completed a long-term follow-up of patients given a short course of chemotherapy before chemoradiation- a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The findings, which follow on from those first presented in October 2023, show a 40 per cent reduction in the risk of death and a 35 per cent reduction in the risk of cancer coming back within at least five years.

At the time of the initial results, Cancer Research UK hailed the shift as the biggest improvement in cervical cancer treatment in more than 20 years.

Around 2,700 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in England each year and around 850 die, according to Cancer Research UK.

Last year the NHS’ chief executive Amanda Pritchard pledged to work towards eliminating cervical cancer in the UK by 2040 through increased screening and use of the HPV vaccine.

Chemoradiation has been the standard treatment for cervical cancer since 1999, but despite improvements in care, cancer returns in up to 30 per cent of cases.

The Interlace phase III trial, funded by Cancer Research UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre, looked at whether a short course of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation could cut relapses and death among patients with locally advanced cervical cancer that had not spread to other organs.

The results, published in The Lancet, are so clear that experts are calling for the regime to be used across the UK and internationally.

Dr Mary McCormack, lead investigator of the trial from UCL Cancer Institute and UCLH, said: “This approach is a straightforward way to make a positive difference, using existing drugs that are cheap and already approved for use in patients.

“It has already been adopted by some cancer centres and there’s no reason that this shouldn’t be offered to all patients undergoing chemoradiation for this cancer.”

The trial team recruited 500 patients over 10 years from hospitals in the UK, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil.

Patients were randomly allocated to receive either standard treatment or the new treatment combination.

After five years, 80 per cent of those who received a short course of chemotherapy first were alive and 73 per cent had not seen their cancer return or spread.

In the standard treatment group, 72 per cent were alive and 64 per cent had not seen their cancer return or spread.

Researchers said that five patients involved in the trial have been disease-free for more than 10 years.

Professor Jonathan Ledermann, senior author of the study from UCL Cancer Institute, said: “The incremental cost for using the drugs in the Interlace trial is low, making this a new treatment that can be easily implemented in all health economies, to significantly improve overall survival.”

Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: “Timing is everything when you’re treating cancer.

“The simple act of adding induction chemotherapy to the start of chemoradiation treatment for cervical cancer has delivered remarkable results in the Interlace trial.

“A growing body of evidence is showing that additional chemotherapy before other treatments, like surgery and radiotherapy, can improve the chances of successful treatment for patients.

“Not only can it reduce the chances of cancer coming back, it can also be delivered quickly, using drugs already available worldwide.”