Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with radical surgery vs radical surgery alone for cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: This systematic review was designed to evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with radical surgery vs radical surgery alone for cervical cancer.

Methods: A computerized search was done for trials from PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The trials included neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus radical surgery vs radical surgery alone. We measured overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), local and distant recurrence, lymph node metastasis, and parametrial infiltration per patient.

Results: In all, 13 studies involving 2,158 subjects were included. In regard to OS, DFS, PFS, local and distant recurrence, and parametrial infiltration, neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus radical surgery was similar to radical surgery alone. Among them, subgroup analysis of eight studies involving 1,544 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (FIGO stage IB2-IIB) showed that neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) plus radical surgery significantly improved OS, and decreased local and distant recurrence rates, lymph node metastasis rate, and the level of parametrial infiltration compared to radical surgery alone.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that preoperative NACT is now an accepted effective procedure in selected patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (FIGO stage IB2-IIB). However, the relationship between NACT and longer DFS and PFS cannot be demonstrated by this meta-analysis. Thus, the decision to use or not to use NACT before radical surgery depends on the surgeon's experience and clinical judgment. Nevertheless, further research in this field is urgently needed to confirm it.