Use of Palliative Cisplatinum for Advanced Cervical Cancer in a Resource-Poor Setting: A Case Series From Kenya

Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of cisplatinum for palliative treatment of advanced cervical cancer in a resource-poor setting. Methods An observational case series is reported from a university teaching hospital in Kenya. All women presenting with advanced cervical cancer and planned for palliative cisplatinum therapy from 2010 to 2014 were included. Women were treated with cisplatinum 50 mg/m2 every 4 weeks in an outpatient setting. Data on tumor stage and symptoms control were prospectively collected in an electronic database. The main outcome measure was control of symptoms such as bleeding, discharge, and pain. Results Of the women who originally presented with bleeding, 62% reported improvement in this symptom, 31.3% reported the bleeding completely stopped, 58% had improvement of their vaginal discharge, and 20.5% reported complete resolution. Of the women who presented with pain, 54% reported improvement; 30.9% reported pain had completely resolved. After each treatment cycle, approximately 30% of patients did not return for their next treatment. Conclusion Cisplatinum as palliative treatment of advanced cervical cancer is feasible in a resource-poor setting and leads to effective symptom control. However, unknown barriers may inhibit women from returning for regular treatment.