Scientists hail biggest cervical cancer advance in 20 years

Scientists say dey fit don make di biggest breakthrough for treatment of cervical cancer inside 20 years, using cheap drugs wey already dey exist ahead of di usual radiotherapy treatment.

Trial findings, wey dey dem reveal for di European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference, show say di approach cut di risk of women wey dey die from di disease or di cancer to return by 35%.

Cancer Research UK, wey fund di work, say di results dey "remarkable".

Dem hope say clinics go soon start dey do di same for patients.

Cervical cancer dey affect thousands of women each year for di UK, many for dia early 30s. Despite improvements for radiotherapy care, cancer dey return for up to one third of cases, e mean say new approach dey very much needed.

Dr Iain Foulkes, from Cancer Research UK, say: "Timing na everitin wen you dey treat cancer.

"One growing body of evidence dey show di value of additional rounds of chemotherapy before oda treatments like surgery and radiotherapy for several oda cancers. No be only say e fit reduce di chances say cancer dey come back, e fit dey delivered quickly wit use of drugs wey already dey available worldwide.

"We dey happy for di improvements wey dis trial fit bring to cervical cancer treatment and hope say short courses of induction chemotherapy go dey adopted fast fast for clinic."

For one study, 250 women wit cervical cancer bin receive di new treatment - one intensive six-week course of carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy, followed by di "usual" treatment of radiotherapy plus weekly cisplatin and brachytherapy, wey dey popular as chemoradiation.

Anoda 250 women - di control group - bin receive only di usual chemoradiation.

Five years later, 80% of those wey don receive di new treatment dey alive and 73% neva see dia cancer return or spread.

Make we compare di "usual" treatment group, 72% dey alive and 64% neva see dia cancer return or spread.

Dr Mary McCormack, wey be lead investigator of di trial from University College London (UCL) Cancer Institute and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), say: "Our trial show say dis short course of additional chemotherapy wey dem deliver immediately bifo di standard CRT (chemoradiotherapy) fit reduce di risk say di cancer go return or death by 35%.

"Dis na di biggest improvement for outcome for dis disease inside over 20 years."

She bin tell one BBC radio programme: "Di important tin here be say if patients dey alive and well, without say di cancer reoccur for five years, dem dey very likely to dey cured, so dat na wetin make dis very exciting."

Sake of say di two chemotherapy drugs dey cheap, available and already approved for use for patients, experts say dem fit become new standard of care fast fast.

However, dem caution say no be everi woman wey get cervical cancer fit get di same beneficial outcomes from di treatment.

Many of di women for di study get cancers wey neva begin spread elsewhere for di bodi. E no clear how well di therapy fit work for women wit more advanced disease.

Di drugs fit also cause unwelcome side effects, including sickness or nausea, and hair loss.