Clinical study of interstitial brachytherapy for 72 cases of recurrent cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE: To determine the application value of interstitial brachytherapy in the treatment of recurrent cervical cancer. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 72 patients with recurrent cervical cancer admitted to The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from September 2017 to April 2022. They were divided into two groups according to different brachytherapy methods: conventional after-load radiotherapy group and interstitial brachytherapy group. After treatment, regular outpatient reviews or telephone follow-ups were conducted to evaluate the efficacy, related toxic and side effects and prognostic factors. RESULTS: The short-term efficacy of the interstitial brachytherapy group was significantly higher than that of the interstitial brachytherapy group (p<0.05). The one-year LC and two-year LC of the interstitial brachytherapy group were 94% and 90.6%, respectively, while those of the conventional after-load group were 74.5% and 67.8%, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). The clinical efficacy of peripheral recurrence was 13.9% in the interstitial brachytherapy group, and that in the conventional after-load group was 2.7%, with a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in late toxic and side effects between the two groups (p<0.05). Prognostic factors: Multivariate analysis of the COX regression model showed that only the maximum tumor diameter was an independent prognostic factor for OS and PFS, while the recurrence site and brachytherapy method were the independent prognostic factors for LC. CONCLUSION: Interstitial brachytherapy radiotherapy touts various benefits in the treatment of patients with recurrent cervical cancer, such as good short-term efficacy, high local control rate, reduced incidence of advanced bladder and rectal toxicity, and improved quality of life.