15Clinical Results of Carbon Ion Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Uterine Cervical Cancer

• Published in: Radioisotopes Vol. 64; no. 6; pp. 443 - 449
• Main Authors: Wakatsuki, Masaru, Shiba, Shintaro, Kamada, Tadashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 19.05.2015
• ISSN: 0033-8303; 1884-4111

Carbon ion beams offer improved dose distribution, resulting in the concentration of a sufficient dose within a target volume while minimizing the dose in surrounding normal tissues. Moreover, carbon ions possess a biological advantage due to their high relative biological effectiveness(RBE) in the Bragg Peak. A number of reports have demonstrated the favorable results of carbon ion radiotherapy(C-ion RT) in the treatment of several malignant tumors. As for clinical trials of C-ion RT for locally advanced cervical cancer, 5 have already been completed, and 2 are still ongoing. Between June 1995 and March 2014, about 200 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer in 8 protocols were treated with C-ion RT. Carbon-ion RT has been established as a safe short-term treatment for locally advanced uterine cervical cancer. Although the patient population in these trials was small, it was shown that C-ion RT has the potential to improve the treatment for locally advanced bulky squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix, with the results supporting the view that investigations should be continued to confirm the therapeutic efficacy. In addition, we are now conducting a new clinical trial of C-ion RT with concurrent chemotherapy.