Immunotherapeutics in Clinical Trials for Cervical Cancer

Abstract

The fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women is cervical cancer (CC) in the worldwide. Although there are differences in the accessibility of therapies across developed and developing nations, an improvement in survival rate has been observed in patients with precancerous lesions, thanks to the development of precancerous lesion identification and preventative human papillomavirus vaccination programs. Surgery can cure early-stage CC, but patients who experience a recurrence have a poor prognosis and few therapy alternatives. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the drug bevacizumab increases overall survival in this latter context when combined with chemotherapy as opposed to chemotherapy administered alone. Beyond this therapy regimen, there are no established treatments. Therefore, in this situation, new, effective treatments are desperately needed. Immunotherapy has been a revolutionary treatment.

Keywords: cervical cancer; immune checkpoints; immunotherapy; pembrolizumab.