Abstract:
Objective To investigate the application of three-dimensional (3D) -printed template interstitial brachytherapy combined with deep hyperthermia (HT) in treating pelvic recurrent cervical cancer.
Methods This study enrolled 73 patients with pelvic recurrent cervical cancer admitted to Hebei Province Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine from January 2017 to March 2021. All patients received 3D-printed template interstitial brachytherapy once weekly in 4–6 fractions. Thirty-nine patients in the control group were treated with only brachytherapy, and 34 patients in the study group were treated with brachytherapy combined with deep HT. Deep HT was prescribed twice weekly, and the temperature was controlled at approximately 41℃ for 40–60 min. The local control rate at 3 months and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.
Results : In the control group of 39 patients, eight had complete response (CR), 14 had partial response (PR), 11 had stable disease (SD), and 6 had progressive disease (PD). In contrast, in the study group of 34 patients, 18 patients had CR, 10 had PR, 4 had SD, and 2 had PD. The objective response rates of the control and study groups were 56.4% (22/39) and 82.4% (28/34), respectively, with a statistically significant difference (χ2=5.66, P=0.017). The disease control rates (DCRs) of the control and study groups were 84.6% (33/39) and 94.1% (32/34), respectively. The DCR of the study group was better than that of the control group, but there was no statistical significance (χ2=0.85, P=0.360). The adverse reactions in the rectum and urethra in the study group were less compared with those in the control group (P=0.023, P=0.003).
Conclusions 3D-printed template interstitial brachytherapy combined with deep hyperthermia showed good short-term efficacy for recurrent cervical cancer and did not increase adverse reactions.