Does adjuvant concurrent or sequential chemotherapy increase the radiation-related toxicity of vaginal brachytherapy for endometrial cancer patients?

OBJECTIVE

To compare radiation toxicity in endometrial cancer patients treated with adjuvant vaginal brachytherapy (VBT) vs. VBT with concurrent chemotherapy (CCT) or sequential chemotherapy (SCT) METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 131 patients with endometrial cancer treated with VBT without external beam radiation therapy. Toxicities were graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.03. CCT was defined as VBT delivered between the first and last cycle of chemotherapy (CT); SCT was defined as VBT delivered before or after CT.

RESULTS

Median followup was 36 months, with a 3-year survival rate of 88%. Of the 131 patients, 92 were treated with VBT alone, 34 with VBT and CCT, and 5 with VBT and SCT. The most common toxicity was vaginal stricture, with 30 (22.9%) patients affected. The distribution of toxicities was vaginal 28%, urinary 12%, rectal 11%, and fatigue 5%; none greater than Grade 2. Compared with patients treated with VBT alone, the addition of CT did not increase the chance of vaginal stricture formation (p = 0.84). The difference in system-specific toxicities between treatment modalities was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The most common pelvic toxicity from VBT is vaginal stenosis with other toxicities being infrequent and generally Grade 1. The addition of CT in a sequential or concurrent fashion did not increase the rate of pelvic toxicity from VBT alone.