What Are The Other Options For Treating Cervical Cancer Aside From The HPV Vaccine?

With 18.3% of all new cancer cases in 2020 being diagnosed in Indian women, cervical cancer is the second most frequent malignancy among them. Cervical cancer is predicted to strike 1 in 53 Indian women at some point in their lives.

Cervical cancer therapy entails:

Surgery: When treating cervical cancer in its early stages, surgery is very important. The most typical surgical procedure, known as a hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection, involves the complete removal of the uterus, ovaries, and regional lymph nodes. This seeks to end the illness while preserving a respectable standard of living.Reproductive preservation procedures involving the excision of the cervix alone with a cuff of surrounding tissue may be carried out in some circumstances, especially in young women with early-stage diseases.
Conflicting reports about the long-term results of minimally invasive methods, such as robot aided surgery and laparoscopy, have prevented these procedures from being widely used, despite their potential advantages.

Radiation Therapy: The most popular treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer is radiation therapy, either administered alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy (chemoradiation).

Radiation may be administered by brachytherapy or external beam radiation over a period of five to six weeks. Internal radiation treatment, or brachytherapy, applies high doses of radiation directly to the original tumor location.

Radiation treatment has been shown to be equally successful as surgery in instances of early cervical cancer; nevertheless, because of the long-term negative effects of radiation, one generally prefers surgery, particularly in younger women.

Radiation treatment could be necessary for certain women in addition to surgery.Technological developments like image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) allow for more accurate tumor targeting with less harm to surrounding healthy tissue, lower treatment-related toxicity, and higher survival rates.

Chemotherapy: Whether used in isolation or in conjunction with radiation treatment, chemotherapy is an essential part of treating advanced cervical cancer. The most often used chemotherapy medication is cisplatin. It functions as a radiosensitizer when administered in conjunction with radiation therapy, improving treatment results.

Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy is the use of medications to increase immunity in order to better recognize and eliminate cancer cells. Chemotherapy often has more adverse effects than immunotherapy.Immunotherapy has been shown to be effective in treating select types of metastatic cervical cancer (Stage 4), although its value in treating locally advanced tumors is still up for debate.The primary disadvantage of immunotherapy is still its expense, which may range from Rs 1.5 to Rs 4.5 lakhs per session on average.

The stage of diagnosis affects a woman’s 5-year survival rate for cervical cancer; rates as low as 7.4% correspond to advanced stage illness, while 73.2% correspond to localized disease. Regular screening with Pap smear testing and clinical examinations shows potential for lowering death rates by enabling early identification and treatment. The aim of cervical cancer therapy is to improve the quality of life for those who are impacted by the disease by putting an emphasis on effective prevention, early identification, and suitable treatment.