Goal of Chemotherapy for Uterine Sarcoma

The goal of chemotherapy is to use drugs to kill cancer cells. Your doctor usually tries to remove cancer from your uterus with surgery. Chemotherapy is increasingly being used for women with uterine sarcoma. Large studies have suggested that for some groups of women, chemotherapy is better than radiation—including patients with uterine sarcoma or endometrial cancer.

In some cases, chemotherapy can be used with radiation therapy to help keep the cancer from growing or spreading. The goal of the use of chemotherapy may be to reduce/prevent the chances the cancer comes back (cure) or to treat symptoms and control disease for as long as possible (not cure). Your doctor will describe what the goals are for you. The likelihood that the chemotherapy can stop the cancer from ever returning (cure) depends on the extent of cancer, where it is located, and what previous treatments you have had. Your overall health and your body’s ability to tolerate the chemotherapy in terms of side effects are also important in determining the benefit of chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment. That means that the drugs travel all through your body via your bloodstream. The goal is to kill cancer cells that have traveled from the original tumor.

Making the Decision to Have Chemotherapy for Endometrial Cancer

Chemotherapy is sometimes recommended to treat uterine sarcoma. Your doctor may suggest it to treat you in one of these cases.

  • To treat cancer that has spread outside of the uterus
  • To treat early stage, but higher risk cancers
  • To add to your treatment with radiation
  • To treat a cancer that has returned after some other therapy (surgery, radiation, another type of chemotherapy)

The chemotherapy drugs used for uterine sarcoma include these. You may have one of these or you may have a combination of drugs.

  • Doxorubicin (adriamycin)
  • Paclitaxel (taxol)
  • Iifosphamide (ifex)
  • Cisplatin or carboplatin

Clinical trials study new ways to treat uterine cancers. New medications or new combinations of older medications may help you. Talk with your healthcare team about these options.

What Happens During Chemotherapy for Uterine Cancer

You usually have chemotherapy as an outpatient. That means you receive a chemotherapy treatment in an infusion center at a hospital or doctor’s office and go home the same day. However, depending on the drugs you are taking and your general health, you may need to stay in the hospital during treatment. You usually get drugs for uterine sarcoma by an injection in a vein.

Chemotherapy treatments are given in cycles. This means that you will be treated then have some time to rest. Chemotherapy can be given on one day, a few days in a row, or continuously for a set amount of time. Your cycle of treatment typically is repeated every 3-4 weeks. The time from one treatment to the next is one cycle. The number of cycles you need to take depends on the chemotherapy drugs (regimen), how the cancer responds, and how well you tolerate it (side effects). Some patients complete a set number of cycles (6-8 for example), then stop. Others continue on treatments as long as the cancer is responding and the side effects are tolerable. Your doctor will explain your treatment plan to you and your family.

What to Expect After Chemotherapy for Uterine Cancer

Side effects of chemotherapy are different for everyone and vary based on which drugs you take. Ask your oncologist and chemotherapy nurse about the side effects you’re most likely to have.

Side effects that last only short term are called acute. Side effects that are ongoing are called chronic. Here are some acute side effects you may have.

  • Nausea
  • Decrease in, or complete loss of, appetite
  • Vomiting
  • Fatigue
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Skin changes
  • Hair loss
  • Sores in your mouth or throat
  • Numbness or tingling of your fingers or toes

Your doctor will likely take blood samples from you often during the period of time you are getting chemotherapy. This is done to make sure you aren’t having harmful reactions. Ask your doctor if there are any side effects you should call your doctor about immediately. For instance, chemotherapy can make you more vulnerable to infections. Call your doctor if you have any of these signs of infection.

  • Fever
  • Sore throat
  • Shaking chills
  • Redness, swelling, and warmth at the site of an injury
  • New cough or shortness of breath
  • Nasal congestion
  • Burning during urination