First Drug Treatment for Late-Stage Cervical Cancer Approved

The FDA approved a combination therapy for women with incurable, recurrent, or persistent cervical cancer -- the first available.

The regimen -- a combination of topotecan (Hycamtin) and cisplatin -- will be used in women whose cancer is unlikely to respond to surgery or radiation. (Hycamtin was approved in 1996 for treating ovarian cancer and in 1998 for small cell lung cancer.)

In clinical trials, patients receiving the regimen survived an average of 9.4 months, compared to an average of 6.5 months for patients on cisplatin alone, according to the FDA announcement. Side effects -- neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, nausea, vomiting, mucositis, rash, and liver toxicity -- were more frequent for those on the combination therapy than for those taking cisplatin alone.