# GOG 120: concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy with radiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-rose-cisplatin-chemoradiation-cervical-nejm-1999/  
OnCo record `paper-rose-cisplatin-chemoradiation-cervical-nejm-1999` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Giving cisplatin during pelvic radiotherapy nearly halved the risk of death compared with radiotherapy with hydroxyurea in locally advanced cervical cancer, establishing weekly cisplatin chemoradiation as the worldwide standard.

## Summary

Phase 3 trial of 526 women with stage IIB to IVA cervical cancer randomised to radiotherapy with weekly cisplatin, with cisplatin plus fluorouracil and hydroxyurea, or with hydroxyurea alone.

Both cisplatin arms improved progression-free and overall survival compared with hydroxyurea (relative risk of death 0.61 and 0.58), and weekly cisplatin was the least toxic, becoming the standard regimen.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
- Year: 1999
- DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199904153401502
- Authors: Rose PG, Bundy BN, Watkins EB, et al.
- Findings: Relative risk of death 0.61 with weekly cisplatin vs hydroxyurea.; Four-year progression-free survival about 65 percent with cisplatin vs 47 percent with hydroxyurea.
- What it means: Weekly cisplatin with external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy remains the backbone of curative treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer; INTERLACE and KEYNOTE-A18 build on it.
- Caveats: The comparator (hydroxyurea) is not a no-chemotherapy control.; Brachytherapy technique has since advanced.

## Sources

- N Engl J Med 1999: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199904153401502
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10202165/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Locally advanced cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/locally-advanced-cervical-cancer/)
- drugs: [Cisplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/cisplatin/)
- journals: [New England Journal of Medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/nejm/)

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