Survival Status and Predictors Among Women with Advanced Stage of Cervical Cancer [Letter]

Dear editor

We have read a research article entitled Survival Status and Predictors Among Women with Advanced Stage of Cervical Cancer” by Teshome,¹ recently published in International Journal of Women’s Health. We congratulate the authors on this successful article and make some contributions. There are four strengths of this study: 1) Focus of this study was on assessing the survival status of advanced cervical cancer patients after starting treatment in Ethiopia, 2) This study makes an important contribution in understanding the factors that influence the survival of cervical cancer patients in resource-limited countries. In addition, 3) This study utilized a prospective cohort study design, which may provide more accurate and relevant data to assist in planning more effective interventions and treatments for advanced cervical cancer patients.

However, we have also discovered several limitations that need to be corrected in the future, namely: 1) This study has limitations in that the follow-up period is limited to only one year, so it does not allow further comparison or discussion of patient survival rates after one year, 2) Some participants in this cohort study did not receive or complete cancer treatment, so should be excluded from the analysis of overall survival rate and median survival time, 3) This study does not have a cancer registry in Ethiopia, so the available data may be limited and incomplete, 4) There is potential bias in data collection and analysis due to limited resources and infrastructure in countries with limited resources such as Ethiopia, 5) This study did not include socioeconomic factors that may influence cervical cancer patient survival, such as healthcare accessibility, social status, or social support.

To obtain better results, we recommend that further research be carried out by 1) Conduct follow-up studies with longer follow-up periods to understand the long-term survival of advanced cervical cancer patients, 2) Expand the scope of the study to include socioeconomic factors that may affect survival, such as healthcare accessibility, income, and social support,² 3) Conduct comparative studies between different methods of treatment of advanced cervical cancer to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of each method,³ 4) Develop intervention programs aimed at improving early detection of cervical cancer and access to quality healthcare for populations in resource-limited countries.

In conclusion, this study makes a significant contribution to understanding the factors that influence the survival of advanced cervical cancer patients in Ethiopia, by highlighting the importance of early detection, timely treatment, and attention to risk factors such as age and the presence of anemia.