{"title":"Incidence of vaginal toxicities following definitive chemoradiation in intact cervical cancer: A meta-analysis.","authors":"Shraddha Raj, Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, Alok Ranjan","doi":"10.5114/jcb.2024.141402","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Cervical cancer is a significant global health burden, with advancements in treatment modalities improving outcomes. However, vaginal toxicities following definitive chemoradiation remain a concern, impacting patients' quality of life. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the incidence of vaginal toxicities, explore associated factors, and assess the relationship with radiation dose in intact cervical cancer patients undergoing radical chemoradiation.</p><p><strong>Material and methods: </strong>A systematic search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases was conducted. Studies reporting on vaginal toxicities post-radical chemoradiation in intact cervical cancer patients were included. Data extraction and analysis were performed according to PRISMA guidelines.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twenty-four studies with various designs were included. The meta-analysis revealed a pooled estimate of 39% (95% CI: 21-56%) for overall vaginal toxicities among cervical cancer patients following definitive chemoradiation. Vaginal stenosis was the most commonly reported toxicity, with a median incidence of 61.5% (range, 20-77.8%) across the studies. Severe toxicities (grade ≥ 3) were reported at rates of 12.74% (CTCAE v. 4.0), 0.98% (CTCAE v. 3.0), 10.41% (RTOG/EORTC), and 0% (LENT-SOMA). Factors, such as age, initial vaginal involvement, and radiation dose were associated with increased toxicity risk. Significant heterogeneity was observed in study populations and methodologies.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Vaginal toxicities are common following definitive chemoradiation in intact cervical cancer patients, with vaginal stenosis being predominant. Standardization of toxicity scoring methods and radiotherapy dose reporting parameters is crucial for accurate comparison and interpretation of findings. Future research should focus on optimizing treatment strategies to minimize vaginal toxicities while maximizing efficacy and patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51305,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy","volume":"16 3","pages":"241-256"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11609866/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5114/jcb.2024.141402","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/6/29 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: Cervical cancer is a significant global health burden, with advancements in treatment modalities improving outcomes. However, vaginal toxicities following definitive chemoradiation remain a concern, impacting patients' quality of life. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the incidence of vaginal toxicities, explore associated factors, and assess the relationship with radiation dose in intact cervical cancer patients undergoing radical chemoradiation.
Material and methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases was conducted. Studies reporting on vaginal toxicities post-radical chemoradiation in intact cervical cancer patients were included. Data extraction and analysis were performed according to PRISMA guidelines.
Results: Twenty-four studies with various designs were included. The meta-analysis revealed a pooled estimate of 39% (95% CI: 21-56%) for overall vaginal toxicities among cervical cancer patients following definitive chemoradiation. Vaginal stenosis was the most commonly reported toxicity, with a median incidence of 61.5% (range, 20-77.8%) across the studies. Severe toxicities (grade ≥ 3) were reported at rates of 12.74% (CTCAE v. 4.0), 0.98% (CTCAE v. 3.0), 10.41% (RTOG/EORTC), and 0% (LENT-SOMA). Factors, such as age, initial vaginal involvement, and radiation dose were associated with increased toxicity risk. Significant heterogeneity was observed in study populations and methodologies.
Conclusions: Vaginal toxicities are common following definitive chemoradiation in intact cervical cancer patients, with vaginal stenosis being predominant. Standardization of toxicity scoring methods and radiotherapy dose reporting parameters is crucial for accurate comparison and interpretation of findings. Future research should focus on optimizing treatment strategies to minimize vaginal toxicities while maximizing efficacy and patient outcomes.
期刊介绍:
The “Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy” is an international and multidisciplinary journal that will publish papers of original research as well as reviews of articles. Main subjects of the journal include: clinical brachytherapy, combined modality treatment, advances in radiobiology, hyperthermia and tumour biology, as well as physical aspects relevant to brachytherapy, particularly in the field of imaging, dosimetry and radiation therapy planning. Original contributions will include experimental studies of combined modality treatment, tumor sensitization and normal tissue protection, molecular radiation biology, and clinical investigations of cancer treatment in brachytherapy. Another field of interest will be the educational part of the journal.