Dr. Klopp on Data Comparing Standard Radiation With IMRT in Gynecologic Malignancies

Ann H. Klopp, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Radiation Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data from a trial comparing standard radiation therapy with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in patients with gynecologic malignancies.

Klopp specifically highlights findings from a randomized phase III trial in which patients with endometrial and cervical cancer reported significantly less acute gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity when treated with pelvic IMRT as opposed to standard pelvic radiation therapy.

The goal of the study, she says, was to look at these acute toxicities that occurred during the course of treatment with the use of an instrument called EPIC questionnaire, which is a measure of GI toxicity as evaluated by patients that fill out surveys about the extent of their symptoms.

The results showed a greater decline in GI function in the patients that had standard radiation. Patients treated with IMRT, on the other hand, had less decline, and this was associated with a better quality of life, Klopp explains.

Though the study is not powered to look at disease control, Klopp says they are continuing to monitor these patients' outcomes. Thus far, they have not seen any recurrences in either group of patients. If they did want to look at disease control in this study, she adds, then they would need to recruit several more patients in order to answer such questions.