Chemotherapy for cervical cancer
Chemotherapy may be your main treatment. Or it may be given to reduce the risk of cancer coming back after surgery.
What is chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. These drugs disrupt the way cancer cells grow and divide, but they also affect normal cells.
You may have chemotherapy to treat cervical cancer:
- with radiotherapy as your main treatment – this is called chemoradiation
- after surgery and with radiotherapy (chemoradiation), if there is a high risk of the cancer coming back
- if the cancer comes back after treatment
- if the cancer spreads to other parts of your body.
Related pages
How chemotherapy is given
You may have chemotherapy in the chemotherapy day unit or on the ward. The drugs are usually given into a vein (intravenously).
During one or more sessions of treatment. The length of each session depends on the combination of chemotherapy drugs you have. After each session, you have a rest period. The chemotherapy session and the rest period are called a cycle of treatment.
The length of a cycle depends on the chemotherapy drugs you have, but most cycles are 1 to 3 weeks long. Your doctor or nurse will tell you how many cycles of treatment you will have.
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Chemotherapy drugs for cervical cancer
A number of different drugs may be used to treat cervical cancer. Your doctor will explain to you which drugs are best for you. You may be given one chemotherapy drug, or two or more in combination. Drugs that may be used include:
- cisplatin
- 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)
- doxorubicin or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin
- paclitaxel
- topotecan
- carboplatin
- gemcitabine.
Side effects
Chemotherapy may cause side effects. For example, many drugs can make you more likely to get an infection. And some drugs may affect the nerves and cause numb, tingling or painful hands or feet (peripheral neuropathy). If you know the name of the chemotherapy you are having you can search for it in our treatment & drugs A-Z.
Many side effects can be controlled with medicines, and usually go away when treatment finishes. Your doctor or nurse will tell you more about what to expect. Always tell them about any side affects you have, as there are usually ways they can help.
About our information
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References
Below is a sample of the sources used in our cervical cancer, cervical screening and CIN information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk
GOV.UK. Cervical screening: programme overview. Updated 18 November 2019. Available from www.gov.uk/guidance/cervical-screening-programme-overview (accessed March 2020).
GOV.UK. Colposcopic diagnosis, treatment and follow up. Updated 5 February 2020. Available from www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-programme-and-colposcopy-management/3-colposcopic-diagnosis-treatment-and-follow-up (accessed April 2020).
Marth C, Landoni F, Mahner S, et al. Cervical cancer: ESMO clinical practice guidelines. Annals of Oncology, 2017; 28, suppl 4, iv72–iv83. Available from www.esmo.org/guidelines/gynaecological-cancers/cervical-cancer (accessed October 2020).
Reed N, Balega J, Barwick T, et al. British Gynaecological Cancer Society (BGCS) cervical cancer guidelines: recommendations for practice. 2020. Available from www.bgcs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FINAL-Cx-Ca-Version-for-submission.pdf (accessed October 2020).
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Reviewers
This information has been written, revised and edited by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Cancer Information Development team. It has been reviewed by expert medical and health professionals and people living with cancer. It has been approved by Senior Medical Editor, Professor Nick Reed, Consultant Clinical Oncologist.
Our cancer information has been awarded the PIF TICK. Created by the Patient Information Forum, this quality mark shows we meet PIF’s 10 criteria for trustworthy health information.
The language we use
We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.
We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:
- use plain English
- explain medical words
- use short sentences
- use illustrations to explain text
- structure the information clearly
- make sure important points are clear.
We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.
You can read more about how we produce our information here.
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