Therapeutic Effect of Surgical Debulking of Metastatic Lymph Nodes in Cervical Cancer Stage IIICr

Bulky or multiple lymph nodes metastasis in cervical cancer shows poor prognosis and can also diminish the effect of radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT). However, it is difficult to increase the dose of radiation and chemotherapy considering their side effects. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the therapeutic effect of surgical debulking of bulky or multiple lymph nodes before concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) compared to CCRT only, in cervical cancer stage IIICr. This study is a phase III, multicenter and randomized clinical trial (DEBULK trial).

• Concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT)
• Surgical debulking of bulky or multiple lymph node followed by CCRT

• Inclusion Criteria

(1) Women aged ≥ 20 years and ≤ 70 years (2) Patients newly diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), adenocarcinoma, or adenosquamous carcinoma (3) Patients with a short-axis diameter of the pelvic LN or para-aortic LN under the renal vein of ≥ 1.5 cm or ≥ 2 LNs with a short-axis diameter ≥ 1 cm in CT or MRI (PET-CT can be used as an auxiliary tool) (4) Patients with CCRT planned as a treatment for cervical cancer (5) Patients whose competency is Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score 0-1 (6) Patients who have signed the approved informed consent form for study participants (7) Patients in whom surgical debulking for LN metastasis was possible, as confirmed by radiological examination.

• Exclusion Criteria

(1) Patients who have been diagnosed with cancer of any organ other than thyroid cancer (excluding stage 0 cancer) within the previous 5 years (2) Patients who are pregnant or plans to conceive during the clinical study period (3) Patients with any active infectious disease or incurable severe inflammation (4) Patients who cannot undergo surgery due to internal or surgical disease (5) Patients who cannot receive chemotherapy due to internal or surgical disease (6) Patients with a history of pelvic RT (7) Patients with a history of subtotal hysterectomy (8) Patients with remote metastasis other than a pelvic or para-aortic LN (e.g., lung, subclavian, and inguinal LNs)