Locally advanced adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinomas of the cervix compared to squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix in Gynecologic Oncology Group trials of cisplatin-based chemoradiation

Objective

Conflicting results have been reported for adeno- and adenosquamous carcinomas of the cervix with respect to their response to therapy and prognosis. The current study sought to evaluate impact of adeno- and adenosquamous histology in the randomized trials of primary cisplatin-based chemoradiation for locally advanced cervical cancer.

Methods

Patients with adeno- and adenosquamous cervical carcinomas were retrospectively studied and compared to squamous cell carcinomas in GOG trials of chemoradiation.

Results

Among 1671 enrolled in clinical trials of chemoradiation, 182 adeno- and adenosquamous carcinomas were identified (10.9%). A higher percentage of adeno- and adenosquamous carcinomas were stage IB₂ (27.5% versus 20.0%) and fewer had stage IIIB (21.4% versus 28.6%). The mean tumor size was larger for squamous than adeno- and adenosquamous. Adeno- and adenosquamous carcinomas were more often poorly differentiated (46.2% versus 26.8%). When treated with radiation therapy alone, the 70 patients with adeno- and adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix showed a statistically poorer overall survival (p = 0.0499) compared to the 647 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. However, when treated with radiation therapy with concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy, the 112 patients with adeno- and adenosquamous carcinomas had a similar overall survival (p = 0.459) compared the 842 patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Adverse effects to treatment were similar across histologies.

Conclusion

Adeno- and adenosquamous carcinomas of the cervix are associated with worse overall survival when treated with radiation alone but with similar progression-free and overall survival compared to squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix when treated with cisplatin based chemoradiation.