@Article{Damast2015,
journal="Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy",
issn="1689-832X",
volume="7",
number="1",
year="2015",
title="Original paperHigh-dose-rate vaginal brachytherapy with chemotherapy for surgically staged localized uterine serous carcinoma",
abstract=" Purpose : To evaluate our institutional experience combining carboplatin-paclitaxel (C/T) chemotherapy with high-dose-rate (HDR) intra-vaginal brachytherapy (IVB) following comprehensive surgical staging in localized uterine serous carcinoma (USC).    Material and methods : Institutional chart review identified 56 patients with FIGO 2009 stage I-II USC treated between 2000-2010. Patients underwent total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy, and comprehensive surgical staging including pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection, omentectomy, and peritoneal cytology. Chemotherapy was 6 cycles of C/T, and the IVB dose was 14 Gy in 2 fractions, prescribed to 0.5 cm from the cylinder surface. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS).    Results : The median follow-up time was 49 months (range: 9-145). The 5-yr RFS and OS were 85% and 93%, respectively. In all cases of recurrence (n = 8), the first site of failure was extra-pelvic. There were no isolated vaginal recurrences, however, there was one vaginal apex recurrence recorded at 19 months in a patient with simultaneous lung metastases. Thus, the 2-year vaginal RFS was 98%.    Conclusions : Excellent vaginal/pelvic control rates were observed. Further study of HDR brachytherapy dose and fractionation in combination with chemotherapy is worthwhile.",
author="Damast, Shari
and Higgins, Susan A.
and Ratner, Elena
and Leon, Maria C. De
and Mani, Sheida
and Silasi, Dan-Arin
and Azodi, Masoud
and Santin, Alessandro
and Rutherford, Thomas
and Schwartz, Peter E.",
pages="35--40",
doi="10.5114/jcb.2015.48539",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/jcb.2015.48539"
}