Cervical cancer survival can be increased by 40 per cent using a new treatment regime of existing medicines, a large trial found.
Giving a boost of chemotherapy ahead of the standard treatment can also lower the risk of the disease returning by more than a third.
Researchers at University College London (UCL) say the ‘remarkable’ findings mean it should become the standard treatment for the disease.
A combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy — known as chemoradiation — has been the standard treatment for cervical cancer since 1999.
But, despite improvements in care, the cancer — which typically affects women in their 30s — returns in up to 30 per cent of cases.
Big Brother star Jade Goody died in 2009, a year after her diagnosis of cervical cancer — the mother of two was just 27 years old. Following her death, the number of women attending cervical screenings, otherwise known as smear tests, rose by around 500,000. This was dubbed ‘the Jade Goody effect’. The numbers attending screenings has fallen again
Oscar-winning actor Olivia Colman appeared in a recent film for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, the raise awareness of the condition that affects more than 3,000 British women a year
Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer, yet statistics show that one in three women don’t take up their invitation to screening
Funded by Cancer Research UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre, the trial looked at whether a short course of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation could cut relapses and death among patients with cervical cancer that had not spread to other organs.
They recruited 500 patients over 10 years from hospitals in the UK, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil.
Patients were randomly allocated to receive either standard treatment or the new treatment combination.
The new treatment programme led to a 40 per cent reduction in the risk of death and a 35 per cent reduction in the risk of cancer returning for at least five years.
The results, published in The Lancet, are so clear that experts are calling for the regime to be used across the UK and internationally.
Dr Mary McCormack, lead investigator of the trial from UCL Cancer Institute and UCLH, said: ‘This approach is a straightforward way to make a positive difference, using existing drugs that are cheap and already approved for use in patients.
‘It has already been adopted by some cancer centres and there’s no reason that this shouldn’t be offered to all patients undergoing chemoradiation for this cancer.’
After five years, 80 per cent of those who received a short course of chemotherapy first were alive and 73 per cent had not seen their cancer return or spread.
Michelle Keegan, pictured, Louise Rednapp and Nadia Sawalha have also appeared in cervical cancer screening campaigns
Cervical cancer symptoms to look out for include unusual vaginal bleeding, pain during sex and lower back or pelvic pain
NHS cervical screening data, which goes back to 2011, shows uptake was at its highest that year (75.7 per cent) and has fallen over time
In the standard treatment group, 72 per cent were alive and 64 per cent had not seen their cancer return or spread.
Researchers said that five patients involved in the trial have been disease-free for more than 10 years.
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Timing is everything when you’re treating cancer.
‘The simple act of adding induction chemotherapy to the start of chemoradiation treatment for cervical cancer has delivered remarkable results in the Interlace trial.
‘A growing body of evidence is showing that additional chemotherapy before other treatments, like surgery and radiotherapy, can improve the chances of successful treatment for patients.
‘Not only can it reduce the chances of cancer coming back, it can also be delivered quickly, using drugs already available worldwide.’
Around 2,700 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in England each year and 850 die from it.
The NHS wants to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 by boosting uptake of screening and the HPV vaccine, which protects against the virus causing nearly all cases.
Cervical screening, once called a smear test, is a test to check the health of the cervix and help prevent cervical cancer — offered to women aged 25 to 64.
The most recent figures show just 66 per cent of the 11 million eligible women aged 25 to 49 attended their screening, while the proportion was 74 per cent among women aged 50 to 64.
