Bone mineral density after concurrent chemoradiation in patients with uterine cervical cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the bone mineral density (BMD) of women with cervical cancer treated with chemoradiation and to compare the outcomes with those of women with myomas treated by hysterectomy. Methods: The BMDs of 43 women with cervical cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (L-spine and proximal femur) and compared with those of 43 matched control women with the same age distribution and body mass index. Medical records were reviewed retrospectively. Both women with cervical cancer and control women had reached menopause or had a history of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Results: The lowest T scores for BMD were significantly lower in the women with cervical cancer treated with CCRT compared with the control women (P = 0.017). The serum total alkaline phosphatase was significantly higher in women with cervical cancer treated with CCRT (P = 0.027). There was no correlation between total alkaline phosphatase and BMD (L-spine and proximal femur; r = 0.089, P = 0.416). The BMDs of both the greater trochanter of the femur (P = 0.013) and L4 (P = 0.011) were significantly lower in women with cervical cancer than in the control women. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that postmenopausal women with uterine cervical cancer treated with CCRT have a lower BMD and are at risk for osteoporosis.