Original Research Article
Year: 2022 | Month: November | Volume: 9 | Issue: 11 | Pages: 502-506
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20221166
Brachytherapy’s Clinical-Imagery Correlates and Tumor’s Reduction Outputs Among Patients with Cervical Cancer
Enes Hafizi1, Helidon Nina1, Aldo Shpuza2, Euglent Hoxha1
1Oncology Service, University Hospital Center Mother Teresa, Tirana, Albania
2Department of Public Health, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania
Corresponding Author: Enes Hafizi
ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical-imagery correlates of cervical cancer before and after brachytherapy, as well as the effects of tumor reduction resulting from the use of this radiation therapy.
Methods: A prospective case series study was conducted during 2009-2012 in the University Hospital Center: "Mother Teresa", Oncology Service. Sampling technique included 202 consecutive women diagnosed with cervical cancer, presented at the hospital and met the study protocol’s inclusion criteria. The instrument used for cervical cancer imaging data was Computerized Tomography, which was used at different times, after applying the respective doses of brachytherapy. The paired t-test was used to estimate the differences between two variables for the same subject, such as imaging data after applying three doses of brachytherapy.
Results: In terms of the distribution of signs and symptoms in cervical cancer patients, 27.2% of them had pain in the lower back, 33.2% referred for pain during sex, 6.4% had vaginal bleeding during sex, 24.8% referred changes to the vaginal discharge, and 30.2% had blood in urine. Only 5.8% of the patients have performed brachytherapy without combined forms of chemo-radiotherapy, since most of the patients (51%) were in stage 2 of cancer. The reductions of the mean tumor sizes in different application of brachytherapy doses such as (dose 3 vs. dose vs. dose 1 vs. before application) were 9.6%, 4.93% and 4.93%, respectively. All these reduction’s results (obtained after paired t-tests) were statistically significant, p<0.001.
Conclusions: It is important to be aware of the clinical, imaging and anatomopathological characteristics of cervical cancer that are used to diagnose and treat this disease. The application of brachytherapy with or without external beam radiation therapy leads to a gradual reduction size of about 5 to 10% after each dose, until the tumour mass might fully diminished.
Keywords: Brachytherapy, cervical cancer, radiation therapy, tumor reduction
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