Treatment Option Overview
KEY POINTS
- There are different types of treatment for children and adolescents with cervical and vaginal cancer.
- Children and adolescents with cervical and vaginal cancer should have their treatment planned by a team of doctors who are experts in treating childhood cancer.
- Three types of treatment are used for cervical and vaginal cancer.
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
- Targeted therapy
- Treatment for childhood cervical and vaginal cancer may cause side effects.
- Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
- Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
- Follow-up tests may be needed.
There are different types of treatment for children and adolescents with cervical and vaginal cancer.
Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.
Because cancer in children is rare, taking part in a clinical trial should be considered. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Children and adolescents with cervical and vaginal cancer should have their treatment planned by a team of doctors who are experts in treating childhood cancer.
Treatment will be overseen by a pediatric oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating children with cancer. The pediatric oncologist works with other pediatric health professionals who are experts in treating children with cancer and who specialize in certain areas of medicine. This may include the following specialists and others:
- Pediatrician.
- Pediatric surgeon.
- Gynecologist.
- Pediatric nurse specialist.
- Rehabilitation specialist.
- Social worker.
- Psychologist.
Three types of treatment are used for cervical and vaginal cancer.
Surgery
Surgery is used to remove as much cancer as possible from the cervix or vagina. If cancer cells remain after surgery or cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, more treatment may be needed.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can affect cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy).
It is not known if chemotherapy is an effective treatment for childhood cervical and vaginal cancer.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack cancer cells. Targeted therapies usually cause less harm to normal cells than chemotherapy and radiation therapy do.
Targeted therapy is being studied for the treatment of childhood cervical and vaginal cancer that has recurred (come back).
Treatment for childhood cervical and vaginal cancer may cause side effects.
Side effects from cancer treatment that begin after treatment and continue for months or years are called late effects. Physical problems, such as problems with fertility, may be a late effect of treatment.
Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the possible late effects caused by some treatments.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. Information about clinical trials supported by NCI can be found on NCI’s clinical trials search webpage. Clinical trials supported by other organizations can be found on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your child's condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
Treatment of Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer
Treatment of newly diagnosed cervical and vaginal cancer in children may include the following:
- Surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, followed by radiation therapy, if cancer cells remain after surgery or cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
- Chemotherapy may also be used, but it is not yet known how well this treatment works.
Treatment of Recurrent Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer
Treatment of recurrent cervical and vaginal cancer in children may include the following:
- A clinical trial that checks a sample of the patient's tumor for certain gene changes. The type of targeted therapy that will be given to the patient depends on the type of gene change.