Tomotherapy vs Conventional Radiation for Adjuvant Pelvic RT in Ca Cervix

Postoperative pelvic radiotherapy (+/- chemotherapy) leads to reduction in the risk of local recurrence and improves progression free survival (PFS) in patients with post-operative intermediate and high risk factors following Wertheim's hysterectomy. However, adjuvant external beam radiotherapy and vaginal cuff brachytherapy increase the risk of small bowel toxicity such that patients undergoing external beam pelvic radiotherapy and vaginal cuff brachytherapy may have 15-18% incidence of late RTOG ≥ grade II small bowel toxicity. Phase II studies using new techniques like Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) have reported up to 50% reduction in small bowel doses with up to 30% reduction in ≥ grade II acute toxicity. However, there is no randomized data demonstrating the benefit of highly specific and conformal techniques like image guided (IG)-IMRT in reducing radiation induced small bowel toxicity in patients with cervical cancers. The present study is being proposed to test if use of IG-IMRT with Tomotherapy is associated with reduced small bowel late toxicity

Inclusion criteria

• Histopathological diagnosis of carcinoma cervix with postoperative intermediate or high risk features.
• Age >18 years.
• Planned for Wertheim's hysterectomy or has already undergone Wertheim's hysterectomy OR has undergone Simple Hysterectomy with no evidence of residual nodes on MRI/PET imaging+/- confirmatory nodal biopsy.
• No evidence of paraaortic nodal metastasis.

Exclusion criteria

• History of multiple previous abdominal surgeries placing patient at baseline high risk of bowel toxicity or any other medical condition with baseline bowel movement disorder.
• Rectal Polyps or extensive hemorrhoids.