94 A new study co-led by investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Centre found that women with early-stage cervical cancer who received radiation combined with chemotherapy experienced a greater short-term decline in quality of life compared with those who received radiation alone. The study was published in the journal Gynecologic Oncology. Quality of life was measured using the FACT-Cx TOI score, which tracks physical well-being and daily functioning. At three weeks, patients receiving both treatments scored 5.1 points lower than those receiving radiation alone. By seven weeks, the gap widened to 6.3 points. Both groups reported drops in well-being early in treatment, particularly between weeks three and seven. By nine months, there were no meaningful differences in quality of life, and pain, gastrointestinal, and urinary symptoms had returned to baseline in both groups. Traditionally, clinical trials for cervical cancer have focused on survival outcomes, such as overall survival or recurrence-free survival. However, these measures do not fully capture how treatments affect patients’ daily lives. Patient-reported outcomes provide a direct view of quality of life, side effects, and symptom burden, but are often collected less frequently than clinician-reported toxicities. This trial was the first US-based study in early-stage cervical cancer to prospectively collect patient-reported outcomes. It evaluated whether adding chemotherapy to radiation after surgery improved recurrence-free survival while also tracking patients’ experiences with side effects, including gastrointestinal issues, neuropathy, and blood-related toxicities. The phase III trial enrolled 316 women with stage I or IIA intermediate-risk cervical cancer who had undergone radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either radiation alone (152) or radiation plus chemotherapy (147). Patients completed questionnaires on quality of life, symptoms, and side effects before treatment and at three, seven, and 36 weeks after starting therapy. Survey completion was high, with 90% completing the three-week questionnaire, 88% the seven-week questionnaire, and 81% the 36–week questionnaire. The findings highlight the importance of providing extra supportive care during the most challenging phase of treatment, weeks three to seven, when declines in quality of life are most pronounced. “Although adding chemotherapy to radiation did not improve outcomes for women with early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer, this study gave us important insight into patients’ experiences,” said Dr Dana Chase, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology in the division of gynecologic oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and first author of the study. “These findings show that physicians should focus on providing extra support both during treatment and throughout the post-treatment recovery period.” Researchers say the next step is to design clinical trials testing interventions to address side effects during radiation with or without chemotherapy, with the goal of improving quality of life for women undergoing treatment.