Predictors associated with severity of pelvic actinomycosis.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical features of pelvic actinomycosis and to identify predictive factors associated with severity of pelvic actinomycosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Medical records of 25 patients diagnosed with pelvic actinomycosis and treated by surgery between September 1994 and March 2010 at Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Of the 25 patients, 15 (60%) had mild pelvic actinomycosis with adhesion and abscess but no complications. The other 10 patients (40%) had an aggressive state of pelvic actinomycosis accompanied by diverse complications, such as hydroureter, abscess rupture, bowel obstruction and cystoenteric fistula. The aggressive actinomycosis correlated with fever, higher neutrophil percentage and a higher white blood cell count to hemoglobin ratio compared to those with mild pelvic actinomycosis. However, there were no significant differences in the use of intrauterine devices, C-reactive peptide level or mass size between those with mild and aggressive pelvic actinomycosis. CONCLUSION: Using the clinical factors, such as fever, neutrophil percentage and white blood cell count to hemoglobin ratio, the surgeons can more accurately predict the severity of pelvic actinomycosis, thus being helpful for more proper disease management.

Clinical analysis of ovarian pregnancy: a report of 49 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To clinically analyze cases of ectopic ovarian pregnancy and to generate data regarding the evaluation and management of suspected ectopic ovarian pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively analyzed 49 ovarian pregnancies that were surgically treated at Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center between January 1996 and December 2009. We analyzed patient age, parity, symptoms, risk factors, preoperative diagnosis, and ovarian pregnancy type. RESULTS: During the study period, the incidence of ovarian pregnancy was 1.59% of all ectopic pregnancies (49/3081); 45/49 (91.8%) were primary ovarian pregnancies. At the time of diagnosis, mean age was 30.7 years (SD: ± 4.4 years) and mean parity was 0.63 (SD: ± 0.8). The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain (42.9%) and vaginal bleeding (28.6%). The most common sonographic findings were fluid surrounding the ovarian pregnancy and ovarian enlargement. In regard to surgical treatment, ovarian wedge resection was most often performed (85.7% of cases), followed by oophorectomy (8.2% of cases). The most common risk factors were endometriosis (16 patients) and a history of abdominal surgery (19 patients). CONCLUSIONS: Ovarian pregnancies are extremely rare and difficult to diagnose both pre- and intra-operatively. Our data may assist surgeons in understanding the clinical presentation of ovarian pregnancy and in counseling patients. Larger studies are warranted to gather more data on this rare form of ectopic pregnancy.

Risk of torsion and malignancy by adnexal mass size in pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate risks of torsion and malignancy by adnexal mass size during pregnancy. DESIGN: Retrospective review of medical records. SETTING: General university hospital and healthcare center. POPULATION: Four hundred and seventy women who underwent surgery for adnexal masses during pregnancy between 2002 and 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rate of torsion and malignancy according to mass size classified into four groups: <6, 6-10, 10-15 and ≥15 cm. RESULTS: Torsion was encountered in 55 patients (11.7%) and malignancy was confirmed in 20 (4.3%). A mass size of 6-10 cm had a significantly higher risk of torsion than a mass <6 cm (odds ratio 2.68, 95% confidence interval 1.33-5.40, p=0.006). Masses ≥15 cm had an approximately 12-fold higher risk of malignancy compared with masses <6 cm (odds ratio 12.36, 95% confidence interval 2.90-52.67, p=0.001). However, for masses of 10-15 cm, the risks of both torsion and malignancy were not higher than those of masses <6 cm. CONCLUSIONS: Risks of torsion and malignancy are not directly proportional to increasing mass size in pregnant women. Physicians should be aware of a high risk of malignancy in women with an adnexal mass of over 15 cm. However, if a mass is smaller, the size should not be considered as a single independent factor in a decision for surgery.

A 10-year experience of laparoscopic surgery for adnexal masses during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinicopathologic outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for adnexal masses during pregnancy. METHODS: In a retrospective study, the medical records of 88 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for adnexal masses during pregnancy between 2000 and 2009 were reviewed. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 30.1 years (range 21-40 years), and the mean gestational age at surgery was 11.6 weeks (4.6-23.6 weeks). The mean diameter of the mass on sonography was 7.5 cm (1.8-18 cm). Pathologically, the most common tumor was a mature cystic teratoma (35.2%), and the prevalence of malignancy was 6.8%. Emergency surgery due to torsion was performed in 28 patients (31.8%). Two spontaneous abortions occurred, both after emergency surgery. The frequency of obstetric complications, such as low birth weight, preterm delivery, use of tocolytics for preterm labor, low Apgar score, and fetal anomaly, was acceptable. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgery for adnexal masses during pregnancy provided tolerable outcomes for the fetus and the mother. In the future, larger prospective clinical trials are necessary to elucidate fully the impact on the fetus.

Para-aortic lymphadenectomy for primary fallopian tube cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the topography of lymph node spread and the need for para-aortic lymphadenectomy in primary fallopian tube cancer (PFTC). METHODS: Twenty-six women were diagnosed with PFTC at Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Seoul, Korea, between March 1992 and November 2009. Of the 26 patients, we retrospectively analyzed 15 patients who underwent complete staging surgery, including bilateral pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 57.9 months (range, 3-185 months) and the 5-year survival rate was 86.3%. Five (33.3%) patients were diagnosed with FIGO stage I, 1 (6.7%) with stage II, and 9 (60%) with stage III cancer. The median number of lymph nodes removed was 53.8 (range, 18-106 nodes). Four (26.7%) patients had nodal involvement: 2 patients with para-aortic lymph node involvement and 2 patients with both pelvic and para-aortic lymph node involvement. None of the patients was positive for pelvic lymph nodes alone. CONCLUSION: A comprehensive para-aortic lymphadenectomy was necessary for accurate staging in PFTC.

Primary fallopian tube carcinoma: a clinicopathological analysis of a rare entity.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and pathological features of a rare tumor, primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 26 patients who were diagnosed with PFTC at Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center between March 1992 and November 2009. RESULTS: Median patient age was 54.6 (range 41-69) years, and the mean follow-up period was 59.8 (range 3-200) months. Twenty-one (80.8%) patients had one or more of the following preoperative symptoms: vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, or a palpable mass. No patient was diagnosed with PFTC preoperatively; 17 (65.4%) patients were diagnosed as having an adnexal mass, six (23.1%) had hydrosalpinx, and three (11.5%) had coexisting endometrial pathology. In seven (26.9%) cases, PFTC was missed during the operation, so an additional surgery was later performed. Ten (38.5%) patients were in stage I, two (7.7%) in stage II, 13 (50%) in stage III, and one (3.8%) in stage IV. The serous type was histologically predominant (76.9%), and most were high grade (76.9%). The 5-year survival rate was 81.7%. CONCLUSION: Primary fallopian tube carcinoma is hardly ever diagnosed preoperatively or intraoperatively due to its rarity. Our report may help surgeons by providing more information about the clinicopathological behavior of PTFC so that patients can be appropriately counseled. Further clinical studies should be performed to collect more information about this rare tumor.

Ovarian cancer during pregnancy: clinical and pregnancy outcome.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical feature and pregnancy outcome in patients with ovarian cancer diagnosed during pregnancy. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 27 patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer during pregnancy at Cheil General Hospital & Women's Healthcare Center from January 1996 to December 2006. Mean age of the patients was 29.1 yr (range 23-40), and a mean follow-up period was 57 months (range 7-112 months). Of 27 patients, 15 (55.5%) had borderline malignancies, 7 (25.9%) had epithelial malignancies and 5 (18.6%) had germ cell tumors. A total of 26 patients received a conservative surgery preserving pregnancy. The mean time for surgical intervention during pregnancy was 20 weeks of gestational age. Of the 27 patients, 26 had full term delivery of a healthy baby without any congenital malformation. Only one patient with epithelial ovarian cancer had a relapse at 19 months after the first conservative operation with adjuvant chemotherapy. There were few data for managing patients with ovarian cancer diagnosed during pregnancy. This study results could help establish a guideline for management of ovarian malignancy complicating pregnancy.

Concurrent endometrial carcinoma following hysterectomy for atypical endometrial hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of concurrent endometrial carcinoma in women diagnosed with atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) by endometrial biopsy. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 126 patients who underwent hysterectomies for AEH diagnosed by endometrial biopsy from 1999 to 2008. AEH was initially diagnosed by dilatation and curettage (98 cases) or endometrial biopsy with a Z-sampler (24 cases). The remaining four cases were diagnosed by hysteroscopic polypectomy. The results of the endometrial biopsies were graded on an ordinal scale and were compared with pathologic features obtained at the hysterectomy. RESULTS: In patients preoperatively diagnosed with AEH by biopsy, hysterectomy specimens revealed a rate of simple or complex endometrial hyperplasia without atypia of 27% with AEH and normal proliferative phases found in 54.7 and 7.9% of specimens, respectively. The incidence of endometrial carcinoma was considerably high (13/126, 10.3%). Eleven of 13 cases were confined to the endometrium and the remaining two were located at the adenomyosis without myometrial invasion. All patients with endometrial carcinoma displayed coexisting atypical complex hyperplasia following hysterectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Biopsy specimens showing AEH, particularly atypical complex hyperplasia, are associated with a risk of coexisting endometrial carcinoma. When considering management strategies for women with a biopsy diagnosis of AEH, clinicians should take into account the considerable rate of concurrent endometrial cancer and the discrepancy with pathologic diagnosis. Treatment modalities may differ depending on population as the rates of concurrent endometrial cancer with AEH and myometrial invasion vary by geographical location.

Laparoscopy-assisted vaginal versus abdominal hysterectomy in endometrial cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of a laparoscopy-assisted surgical staging with a traditional laparotomy staging for the treatment of endometrial cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 465 patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma treated by surgery between January 1996 and December 2007. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the laparoscopy and the laparotomy groups in age, body mass index, and histologic type. However, in the laparotomy group, grade and surgical stage were higher, the diseases were more chronic, and more postoperative adjuvant treatments were necessary. One hundred seven (76.4%) of 140 patients in the laparoscopy group and 260 (80.0%) of the 325 patients in the laparotomy group had lymphadenectomy, and the median numbers of pelvic and paraaortic lymph nodes obtained were not statistically different. The laparoscopy group showed shorter postoperative hospital stay and lower blood loss, and the operating time was also shorter than that in the laparotomy group. There was no significant difference in intraoperative or postoperative complications, and the operative technique did not influence survival rates after adjusting several confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our data of 12 years with a large number of patients show no differences in complications and impacts on survival between laparoscopy and laparotomy. Laparoscopy has advantages of shorter operating time and other advantages over laparotomy previously reported. Therefore, laparoscopy can be considered a good therapeutic option for endometrial cancer.

Postoperative nomogram predicting risk of recurrence after radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop a nomogram for predicting the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) after radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An institutional database of 275 consecutive patients treated at Seoul National University Hospital for stage I to stage IIA cervical cancer was used to develop a nomogram based on Cox proportional hazards regression model. The developed nomogram was internally validated with bootstrapping, and performance was assessed by concordance index and a calibration curve. External validation was also performed using an independent data set of patients from Asan Medical Center. RESULTS: From Cox regression analysis, disease stage, number of positive lymph nodes, parametrial involvement, and depth of invasion were identified as independent risk factors for disease recurrence (P < 0.05). The nomogram incorporating these factors appeared to be accurate and predicted the outcomes better than the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage alone (concordance index, 0.858 compared with 0.719; P = 0.001). When applied to a separate validation set, the nomogram also showed similar predictive accuracy (concordance index, 0.879). CONCLUSION: We have developed a nomogram that can predict the recurrence risk in patients with early-stage cervical cancer after surgery, which was internally and externally validated.

Conservative treatment with progestin and pregnancy outcomes in endometrial cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of conservative treatment with progestin and pregnancy outcomes in women with early-stage endometrial cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 35 patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma, who were treated with progestin from January 1996 to December 2006. Women with early-stage grade 1 endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma, who wanted to receive conservative treatment or preserve fertility, were included. All women were treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate or megestrol acetate, with regular dilation and curettage performed. Complete remission (CR) was defined as no evidence of endometrial adenocarcinoma or hyperplasia. Partial remission was diagnosed when the patient developed endometrial hyperplasia, and persistent disease was defined as residual endometrial adenocarcinoma by pathologic confirmation. RESULTS: The median age was 31 years (range, 21-43 years), and the median follow-up period was 39 months (range, 5-108 months). Complete remission was achieved in 22 patients (62.9%), partial remission was achieved in 1 patient (2.9%), and 12 patients (34.3%) had persistent disease. The median time to CR was 9 months (range, 2-12 months). Of the 22 patients with CR, 9 (40.9%) had recurrent disease, and the median time to recurrence was 12 months (range, 8-48 months). Ten (83.3%) of the 12 patients with CR who tried to conceive were successful, and 8 of the 10 pregnancies resulted in live births. There were no congenital anomalies in babies associated with progestin treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Conservative treatment with progestin can be considered a good therapeutic option in patients with well-differentiated early-stage endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma who wish to preserve their uteri or become pregnant.

Fertility preservation in patients with early epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of fertility preservation in the treatment of patients with early epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 21 patients with early EOC from January 1995 to December 2006. All eligible patients with a strong desire to preserve fertility were younger than 35 years and underwent fertility-sparing surgery with or without adjuvant chemotherapy. RESULTS: Twenty-one eligible patients with a median age of 26.7 years (range, 20 to 33 years) were identified, and the mean follow-up period was 43 months (range, 5 to 86 months). Only one patient with stage IC recurred 34 months after the first operation. A total of five patients were able to become pregnant at least once after the first fertility preserving treatment, with or without adjuvant chemotherapy. All five patients succeeded in full-term vaginal delivery with healthy infants. No patients died of their disease. CONCLUSION: Fertility preserving treatment in patients with early EOC can be considered as a proper treatment strategy in patients with early EOC, who have the strong desire for fertility preservation.

Pathologic risk factors for predicting residual disease in subsequent hysterectomy following LEEP conization.

OBJECTIVE: The loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) is widely used for cervical conization. It is unclear if margin status is the single most important factor for predicting residual or recurrent disease. We therefore sought to determine supplementary histologic factors that can be used to predict residual disease in subsequent hysterectomy specimens in order to select patients at high risk for residual and recurrent disease. METHODS: The study group comprised 172 women who had undergone LEEP conization and subsequent hysterectomy. Histological findings were assessed and compared in patients with and without residual disease. RESULTS: A univariate analysis revealed that percentage of involved pieces (51% vs. 32%, p<0.001), percentage of involved mucosal length (30% vs. 17%, p=0.001), positive endocervical biopsy (77% vs. 45%, p<0.001), bulbous growth (73% vs. 44%, p=0.001), pseudogland or central necrosis (73% vs. 26%, p<0.001), and severe degree of nuclear atypia (17% vs. 4%, p=0.043) were significantly more frequent in patients with residual tumors among 140 resection margin positive patients, but mitotic count, severe inflammatory cell infiltration, endocervical glandular extension, and cytoplasmic maturation did not differ significantly between the two groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that positive endocervical biopsy, bulbous growth, and central necrosis were associated with residual disease in the resection margin positive patients. CONCLUSION: In patients with positive LEEP margins in young women who want to preserve her fertility, negative endocervical biopsy, and the absence of bulbous growth or central necrosis can be used as selection criteria for patients who can defer the additional surgery and be closely followed with colposcopic and cytologic examination. Even in samples with negative LEEP margins, the patients who have those histologic parameters may need more careful monitoring for residual tumor or tumor recurrence.

Ex vivo expansion of human umbilical cord blood-derived T-lymphocytes with homologous cord blood plasma.

This study was designed to establish a more effective and safe culture system for adoptive immunotherapy by investigating the use of homologous cord blood plasma (HCBP) instead of fetal bovine serum (FBS), which has various limitations including ethical problems for the ex vivo expansion of human umbilical T lymphocytes. Fresh human umbilical mononuclear cell fractions were isolated by Ficoll-Hypaque density centrifugation. Nonadherent mononuclear cell fractions were cultured with anti-CD3 antibody (5 microg/ml), IL-2 (175 U/ml), and either 10% FBS or 10% HCBP. On day 8, the cellular proliferation rate and cell surface markers were assessed. There was no significant difference in proliferation when human umbilical cord blood T lymphocytes were grown in medium supplemented with FBS or HCBP (p > 0.05). In medium containing FBS, the proportion of CD3(+)CD4(+) (markers for helper T cell), CD3(+)CD8(+) (cytotoxic T cell), CD3(+)CD25(+) (activated T cell), CD3(+)CD38(+) (immature T cell), and CD3(+)CD45RO(+) (memory T cell) cells was significantly increased (p < 0.05), whereas proportion of CD3(+)CD45RA(+) (naive T cell) and CD16(+)CD56(+) (NK cell) cells was significantly decreased (p < 0.05). In HCBP supplemented medium, the proportion of CD3(+)CD8(+), CD3(+)CD25(+), CD3(+)CD45RA(+), and CD3(+)CD45RO(+) cells was significantly increased (p < 0.05). The proportion of CD3(+)CD4(+), CD3(+)CD45RO(+) and CD3(+)CD38(+) cells was significantly higher, but proportion of CD3(+)CD45RA(+) and CD3(+)CD8(+) cells was significantly lower in FBS compared with HCBP supplemented medium (p < 0.05). Our results support the feasibility of ex vivo expansion of human umbilical cord blood T lymphocytes in medium supplemented with HCBP for future adoptive cellular immunotherapy.

A preliminary results of a randomized trial comparing monthly 5-flourouracil and cisplatin to weekly cisplatin alone combined with concurrent radiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the superior chemotherapeutic regimen between monthly 5-FU plus cisplatin (FP) and weekly cisplatin alone in concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer, the compliance of treatment, response, survival and toxicities were analyzed between the two arms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 1998 and December 2001, 61 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (stage IIB through IVA) and negative para-aortic lymph nodes were randomly assigned to either 'monthly FP' (arm I, n=34) or 'weekly cisplatin' (arm II, n=27) with concurrent radiotherapy. The patients of arm I received FP (5-FU 1,000 mg/m(2)/day + cisplatin 20 mg/m(2)/day, for 5 days, for 3 cycles at 4 week intervals) and those of arm II received cisplatin (30 mg/m(2)/day, for 6 cycles at 1 week intervals) with concurrent radiotherapy. The radiotherapy consisted of 41.4 approximately 50.4 Gy external beam irradiation in 23 approximately 28 fractions to the whole pelvis, with high dose rate brachytherapy delivering a dose of 30 approximately 35 Gy in 6 approximately 7 fractions to point A. During the brachytherapy, a parametrial boost was delivered. The median follow-up period for survivors was 44 months. RESULTS: The compliance of treatment in monthly FP weekly cisplatin arms were 62 and 81%, respectively. The complete response rates at 3 months were 96 and 88% in arms I and II, respectively. The 4-year overall survival and disease free survival rates were 64 and 54% in the arm I and 77 and 66% in the arm II, respectively. The incidence of hematologic toxicity more than grade 2 was 29% in the arm I and 15% in the arm II. Only one patient in arm I experienced grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicity. No severe genitourinary toxicity was observed. CONCLUSION: No significant difference was observed in the compliance, responses, survival rates and acute toxicities between the two treatment arms. More patients and further follow up will be required.

Comparative study of laparoscopico-vaginal radical hysterectomy and abdominal radical hysterectomy in patients with early cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of patients treated by laparoscopico-vaginal (modified) radical hysterectomy (LVMRH) to those of patients treated by abdominal radical hysterectomy (RH). METHODS: From 1997 to 2002, we performed 37 cases of LVMRH + pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) and 47 cases of laparoscopico-vaginal radical hysterectomy (LVRH) with paraaortic lymph node sampling + PLND. Inclusion criteria for the laparoscopic surgery were patients with FIGO stage IA1 to IB1, for exocervical mass of grossly less than 2 cm. As a control, we selected 46 cases for MRH group and 96 cases for RH group. RESULTS: Operating time, the number of lymph nodes obtained and the rate of complications were similar in both groups. The hospital stay was significantly shorter in laparoscopic group. Four (8.5%) of 47 LVRH patients and 2 (2.1%) of 96 RH patients had recurrences. Recurrence-free survival in RH group was significantly higher than LVRH group (P = 0.0194). In LVRH group, patients with large tumor volume (>or=4.2 cm(3)) had significantly higher recurrence rate of 42.9% (3/7) than those with small volume (1/40) (P = 0.0021). The 3-year progression-free survivals were 97.1% in LVRH group (<4.2 cm(3)) and 98.9% in RH group. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of early cervical cancer is a safe and effective alternative to conventional RH. Considering the higher recurrence rate in patients with large tumor volume, it would be better if laparoscopic surgery is limited to patients with small volume disease (tumor diameter <2 cm or volume <4.2 cm(3)).

Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix Preliminary Results of Phases III Prospective Randomized Trial.

PURPOSE: A prospective, randomized phase III, clinical trial was performed to assess treatment related acute toxicity, early response and survival difference, between a monthly 5-FU cisplatin, and a weekly cisplatin group alone, for concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the locally advanced uterine cervical carcinoma patients. MATERIALS AND METGODS: Between March 1998 and March 2000, 35 patients, with locally advanced (FIGO stage IIB to IVA) cervical carcinoma, were studied, but 5 patients were excluded inform the analysis due to their refusal of treatment. The patients were randomly assigned to 'monthly 5-FU cisplatin' (arm I), or 'weekly cisplatin' (arm II), groups. The patients of arm I received 5-FU cisplatin (5-FU 1,000 mg/m2/day cisplatin 20 mg/m2/day, IV continuous infusion, for 5 days, 3 cycles with 4-week intervals) with radiation therapy. Those of arm II received only cisplatin (cisplatin 30 mg/m2/day, IV bolus, 6 cycles with 1-week intervals) with radiation therapy. The radiation therapy consisted of external beam irradiation of 41.4~50.4 Gy/23~28 fractions, and high dose rate intracavitary treatments, delivering a dose of 30~35 Gy to point A in 6~7 fractions. During intracavitary radiation, a parametrial boost was delivered for a point B dose of 60 Gy in the non-thickened side, and 65 Gy in the thickened side. Treatment related acute toxicities were assessed using Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) acute morbidity scoring criteria. The response to treatment, and survival, were analyzed. The median follow-up period was 19 months. RESULTS: The FIGO stage distributions of arm I (n=16) and arm II (n=14) were as follows; IIB 10, IIIA 1, IIIB 4, IVA 1 in arm I, 12, 0, 1 and 1 in arm II respectively. The compliance of both arms were 80.0% and 93.3%, respectively (p=0.37). During radiation therapy, the incidences of leukopenia, greater than RTOG grade 2, were 25.0%, 14.3%, respectively. There were no patients with gastrointestinal or genitourinary toxicity greater than RTOG grade 2. The complete response rates at 3 months, following radiation therapy, were 87.5% and 92.9% respectively. Two-year disease free survival rates were 81.3%, 85.7%, respectively, for each arms. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in response to treatment, or patterns of failure, between the monthly FP and weekly cisplatin arms. Although there were no statistically significant differences, the patients of the weekly cisplatin arm had better compliance. More patients, and a longer follow up, are needed for improved evaluation of the regimen.