Clinical outcomes of uterine arterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads for advanced-stage or recurrent cervical cancer

Purpose To study the clinical efficacy and safety of transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads (DEB-TACE) among women with advanced-stage or recurrent cervical cancer. Methods This retrospective cohort study enrolled women with cervical cancer who were treated by DEB-TACE between April 3, 2017 and July 12, 2021. Inclusion criteria were pathologic diagnosis of cervical cancer, II–IVa period, being aged 18 to 80 years, patient's inclination of treatment with DEB-TACE, and complete clinicopathologic data. Direct medical cost, hospital stay, resection frequency, treatment responses, adverse events, overall survival, and progression-free survival were investigated. Results A total of 16 women with cervical cancer were treated by DEB-TACE. DEB-TACE was successfully performed in all patients, with no major complications or adverse events. A total of 10 minor complications were observed in 9 women (56.3%) after the procedure. Seven (43.8%) women experienced mild to moderate post-embolization pain. The tumors decreased 3 and 6 months after the treatment. The frequency of complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease was 1 (40%), 3 (40%), 12 (15%), and 0 (0%), respectively, resulting in an objective response rate of 25.0% and a disease control rate of 100.0% after 1 month. The median hospital stay was 9.5 days, and the direct medical cost was 5.9 × 10 4 ¥. The median follow-up time was 4.1 months (interquartile range 2.6–23.7 months). The median overall survival was 19.1 months, and the 1- and 3-year survival rate was 64.9% and 46.4%, respectively. Conclusion DEB-TACE with diamminedichloroplatinum-preloaded beads may be an effective and safe treatment for women with advanced-stage or recurrent cervical cancer.