Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised Phase II and III trials were included in the review, with results reported for survival, local control or toxicity. Abstracts were included.
Specific interventions included in the review
Treatment with various combinations and doses of the following chemotherapeutic agents: ifosfamide, cisplatin, carboplatin, mitomycin, bleomycin, mesna, vinblastine, vincristine, methotrexate, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil.
The treatments varied in terms of the numbers of cycles of drugs and the interval between cycles, and included 2 to 4 cycles with a 3-week interval between cycles, and 2 cycles with a 2-week interval.
The interventions also included combinations of the following radiotherapy treatments: pelvic radiotherapy (40, 50, 40 to 55 Gy), and intracavitary brachytherapy (25 to 40 Gy, 30 Gy, 30 to 35 Gy, 40 Gy to point A, 3,320 cGy), and external-beam parametrial boost (10 Gy, 15 to 20 Gy). Patients in the control arm were treated using conventional radiotherapy alone.
Participants included in the review
There were no predetermined criteria for participant inclusion. Women with Stage II, IIb, III, IIIb, IV, IVa and IVb cervical cancers were included in the review.
Outcomes assessed in the review
The outcomes included in the review were survival rate, response rates (complete and partial), percentage failure rate (local failure, distant metastases and both failure rates combined) and toxicity levels.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the authors performed the selection.