• Takafumi Toita, Katsumasa Nakamura, Takashi Uno, Takeshi Kodaira, Atsunori Shinoda, Kazuhiko Ogawa, Norio Mitsuhashi, Katsuya Maebayashi, Atsuko Kawaguchi, Toshihiko Inoue, and Teruki Teshima.
• Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara-cho, Okinawa, 903-0215 Japan. b983255@med.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
• Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. 2005 Mar 1; 35 (3): 139-48.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to establish Japanese national practice patterns for uterine cervical cancer patients who received radiotherapy without surgery.MethodsThe Japanese Patterns of Care Study (JPCS) conducted a national survey of 73 institutions using two-stage cluster sampling, and collected specific information on 591 patients with uterine cervical cancer treated by radiotherapy without planned surgery between 1995 and 1997.ResultsThe median age of the patients was 70 years. Karnofsky performance status (KPS) was >/=90 for 37%. Most patients (95%) had histology of squamous cell carcinoma. Ten percent were stage I, 29% stage II, 48% stage III and 13% stage IVA. Photon beams of 10-14 MV were the most used for external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). The beam energy utilized varied significantly by institution strata. Midline block was used in approximately 70% of institutions. Intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) was performed in 77%. Institution strata correlated significantly with the ICBT application. The majority of patients (89%) were treated with high-dose-rate (HDR) ICBT. The median single point A dose of HDR-ICBT was 600 cGy. The median summated point A dose from EBRT and HDR-ICBT was 5800 cGy (range: 1196-8600). The median overall treatment time including ICBT was 49 days. Twenty-four percent of the patients received chemotherapy. Concurrent chemoradiation was performed in 5%.ConclusionsThe JPCS established the Japanese national practice patterns of care for uterine cervical cancer patients treated with radiotherapy without planned surgery between 1995 and 1997. This survey demonstrated that the institutional strata significantly affected several practice patterns.

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