Radiation therapy duration influences overall survival in patients with cervix carcinoma.

of the cervix treated by radical radiation therapy. Method; Three hundred and sixty patients with FIG0 stage IB-IIIB
carcinoma of the cervix were treated in Lausanne (Switzerland) with external radiation and brachytherapy as first line
therapy. Median therapy duration was 45 days. Patients were classified according to the duration of the therapies,
taking 60 days (the 75th percentile) as an arbitrary cut-off. Results: The 5-year survival was 61% (SE. = 3%) for the
therapy duration group of less than 60 days and 53% (SE. = 7%) for the group of more than 60 days. In terms of
univariate hazard ratio (HR), the relative difference between the hvo groups corresponds to a 50% increase of deaths
(HR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.03-2.28) for the longer therapy duration group (P = 0.044). In a multivariate analysis, the
magnitude of estimated relative hazards for the longer therapies are confirmed though significance was reduced
(HR = 1.52, 95% CI = 0.94-2.45, P = 0.084). Conclusion: These findings suggesthat short treatment duration is a
factor associated with longer survival in carcinoma of the cervix. 0 1997 International Federation of Gynecology
and Obstetrics