New method promises longevity for cervical cancer sufferers

Researchers have found that women with advanced cervical cancer live about four months longer with the combined use of bevacizumab and chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone.

Women who combined bevacizumab with chemotherapy lived an average of 17 months after diagnosis, while those who received chemotherapy alone lived 13.3 months.

Dr. Bradley J. Monk, nationally recognized for his expertise in cervical cancer and chairs the Gynecologic Oncology Cervical Cancer Committee for the National Cancer Institute funded Gynecologic Oncology Group, and the project's senior author said that this research proves that there are new options for patients with metastatic cervical cancer.

The research was conducted between April 2009 and January 2012. A total of 452 women participated in the trial and were enrolled from 164 institutions in the United States and Spain. St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center was the only site enrolling in Arizona.

The study has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.