Symptoms of recurrent cervical carcinoma may include vaginal bleeding or discharge, pain in the pelvis, back or legs, leg swelling (edema), chronic cough and weight loss.
• If radiation was not given previously, recurrences that are confined to the pelvis may be treated with external
beam radiation and intracavitary or interstitial radiation therapy .
• If radiation therapy was already given, the only option is the removal of the vagina, uterus and the bladder
and/or rectum with the creation of an artificial bladder—a pelvic exenteration. The five-year survival rate after a
pelvic exenteration is about 50 percent.
• Women with recurrent tumors that can't be surgically removed or with metastatic disease are usually treated
with chemotherapy . Commonly used drugs include single agent cisplatin or carboplatin . Other regimens
include cisplatin or carboplatin + ifosfamide , vincristine + mitomycin-C + bleomycin + cisplatin and
bleomycin +mitomycin-C + 5-fluorouracil.
• Those with unresectable pelvic disease may be re-irradiated with or without heat or given pelvic arterial
