Platinum compounds in cervical and endometrial cancers: focus on carboplatin.

Drug therapy for cervical cancer is slowly undergoing evaluation in early disease stages, in which it is more likely to make an impact. Cisplatin has been the principal drug used in systemic therapy for all stages, with the possible exception of the radiosensitizer hydroxyurea. Nevertheless, current studies use cisplatin in this role as well. To a limited extent, substitution of carboplatin for cisplatin also has been explored. Conflicting interpretations of carboplatin trials nonetheless support continued study of this drug; its activity is reproducible and it can be combined with radiation therapy in practical dose schedules. The major question in the systemic nonendocrine treatment of endometrial cancer revolves around whether cisplatin adds to results achievable with doxorubicin. Carboplatin, documented as active against this neoplasm, represents a potentially advantageous cisplatin substitute for elderly patients. Moreover, if combination chemotherapy should prove disappointing, single-agent carboplatin may provide the best strategy for palliative therapy.