In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Dr. Supriya Chopra. Dr. Chopra is a Professor in Radiation Oncology at ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre and Principal Investigator of the PARCER trial. Her research focus is to improve outcomes of cervical cancer through use of advanced radiation techniques in patients undergoing RT for both primary and recurrent metastatic cervical cancer. She also co-leads multi-institutional molecular translational research programme (BIOEMBRACE) for cervix cancer.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Postoperative Adjuvant Radiation in Cervical Cancer (PARCER), a phase III randomized trial, compared late toxicity after image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IG-IMRT) with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) in women with cervical cancer undergoing postoperative radiation.

- IG-IMRT results in reduced toxicity with no difference in disease outcomes in cervical cancer.

- The 3-year cumulative incidence of grade ≥ 2 late GI toxicity in the IG-IMRT and 3D-CRT arms were 21.1% versus 42.4%.

- The cumulative incidence of grade ≥ 2 any late toxicity was 28.1% versus 48.9%.

- Patients reported reduced diarrhea (P = .04), improved appetite (P = .008), and lesser bowel symptoms (P = .002) with IG-IMRT.