Black Women With Cervical Cancer Appear To Have Fewer Chemotherapy-Related Side Effects Than White Women, Study Finds

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Article Date: 05 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PST

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Black women who have advanced and recurrent cervical cancer seem to have fewer side effects from a commonly used form of chemotherapy than white women, according to a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reuters Health reports. Cisplatin, a platinum-based version of chemotherapy, is a common treatment for various types of cancer.

For the study, lead researcher Steven Plaxe of the University of California-San Diego examined data pooled from three studies that included information on 374 white and 125 black women who were treated with a variety of chemotherapy drug combinations for cervical cancer, including cisplatin.

Researchers found that 63% of black women, compared with 82% of white women, had severe neutropenia, a side effect related to frequent chemotherapy that is characterized by a drop in a white blood cell called the neutrophil. Black women also were less likely to have two other chemotherapy-related side effects -- leukopenia, an abnormally low white blood cell count, and thrombocytopenia, a reduction in platelet cells.

In addition, when compared with white women, black women did not have an increased risk of the cancer worsening or of dying from their disease, according to the study. Plaxe said that the findings "support efforts directed at encouraging enrollment of all eligible women, particularly minorities, into clinical research studies" (Reuters Health, 12/3).

An abstract of the study is available online.

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