Preoperative transarterial chemoembolization for cervical cancer: analysis of efficacy

Objective: To evaluate preoperative transarterial chemoembolization in treating locally advanced cervical cancer and to observe the pathological changes. Methods: Forty-three patients with pathologically proved cervical cancer were enrolled in this study. All patients were treated with transarterial chemoembolization before radical hysterectomy. Bleomycin and cisplantin were infused via bilateral uterine arteries, followed by arterial embolization with gelfoam particles as embolic agent. Radical hysterectomy was performed 20-87 days (mean 38.3 days) after chemoembolization, and the specimen was taken for pathologic examination. Results: (1) complete response (CR) was seen in 4 cases and partial response (PR) in 29 cases, with a total effective rate of 76.7%. (2) The interval between chemoembolization and hysterectomy was a risk factor related to the effect of chemoembolization, i.e. the longer the interval was, the poorer the effect of chemoembolization would be. (3) Pathologically, the tumoral parauterine infiltration was not so severe as estimated before surgery. Conclusion: Preoperative chemoembolization is a safe and effective adjunctive means for the treatment of cervical cancer, which is very helpful for the subsequent radical hysterectomy. (authors)