Recurrent cervical cancer is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. Recurrent cervical cancer may come back in the cervix or in other parts of the body.

Treatment Option Overview

Key Points for This Section

There are different types of treatment for patients with cervical cancer.

Three types of standard treatment are used:

Surgery

Radiation therapy

Chemotherapy

Other types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.

There are different types of treatment for patients with cervical cancer.

Different types of treatment are available for patients with cervical cancer. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. Before starting treatment, patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the "standard" treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.

Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Cancer.gov Web site. Choosing the most appropriate cancer treatment is a decision that ideally involves the patient, family, and health care team.

Three types of standard treatment are used:

Surgery

Surgery (removing the cancer in an operation) is sometimes used to treat cervical cancer. The following surgical procedures may be used:

Radical hysterectomy: This surgery involves removing the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, and part of the vagina. Lymph nodes may also be removed.

Pelvic exenteration: If the cancer has spread throughout the pelvis, then the lower colon, rectum, or bladder (depending on where the cancer has spread) may be removed along with the cervix, uterus, and vagina. Plastic surgery may be needed to make an artificial vagina after this operation.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is the use of x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy may use external radiation (using a machine outside the body) or internal radiation. Internal radiation involves putting radioisotopes (materials that produce radiation) through thin plastic tubes into the area where cancer cells are found. Both external and internal radiation are used for cervical cancer.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by mouth, or it may be put into the body by inserting a needle into a vein or muscle. Either type of chemotherapy is called systemic treatment because the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body.

RECURRENT CERVICAL CANCER

If the cancer has come back (recurred) in the pelvis, treatment may be one of the following:

1. Radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy.

2. Chemotherapy to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer.

If the cancer has come back outside of the pelvis, a patient may choose to go into a clinical trial of systemic chemotherapy.

Treatment of recurrent cervical cancer may include the following:

Pelvic exenteration followed by radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer and improve quality of life.