

For this reason, clinical trials have been conducted to assess the efficacy of ICIs against cervical cancer. Consequently, immunotherapy targeting HPV has been attempted, but insufficient effects were obtained. Human papilloma virus (HPV) is known to be involved in the development of cervical cancer. However, because regimens for second-line treatment and beyond have yet to be established, further development of new methods is anticipated.Īgainst this background, ICIs have become highly anticipated as a potential treatment for cervical cancer. Overall survival (OS) of the GOG204 study was extended from 13 to 17 months in recurrent and unresectable cervical cancer, with the addition of bevacizumab to platinum-based chemotherapy. Radio- and chemotherapy have been used to treat patients with advanced uterine cervical cancer, but these therapies have met with limited success. Primary treatment for early stage cervical cancer is surgery. Approximately 569,000 cases of cervical cancer and 311,000 deaths from disease occurred in 2018, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer database. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women, and the seventh most common of all human cancers. Lymph nodes and the cancer microenvironment possess separate mechanisms to determine the directionality of immune response to cancer cells. Furthermore, in the cancer microenvironment, cancer cells express suppression signals on the cell surface to suppress the immune function of T cells activated in lymph nodes.

In the promotion type, T cells become activated, whereas in the suppression type, T cells recognize but cannot attack the cancer cells.

This co-signal can be promotional or suppressive in nature. T cells subsequently recognize cancer, but an immune co-signal that determines the T-cell function is necessary at this point. Typically, dendritic cells engulf cancer cells, migrate to the lymph nodes and present cancer antigens to T cells in lymph nodes. However, with the recent introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) that release immune-suppressing brakes, evidence for the feasibility of immunotherapy in cancer treatment has finally become established and is revolutionizing cancer treatment. Cancer immunotherapy has a long history, starting with peptide vaccines and adoptive immunotherapy for cancer, although promising outcomes have remained elusive. We describe herein the KEYNOTE-158 and CheckMate 358 clinical trials, which were conducted for cervical cancer, and discuss future directions, including potential combinations with concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT), as noted for other types of cancer.Ĭancer immunotherapy is a general term for treatments that strengthen or trigger the immune system of the patient to elicit antitumor effects. For this reason, the development of new therapeutic approaches is imperative. Since the introduction of angiogenesis inhibitors, treatment for recurrent and advanced cervical cancers has improved in the past five years, but median overall survival is 16.8 months for advanced cervical cancer, and all-stage five-year overall survival rate is 68%, indicating that treatment effects remain inadequate. Cervical cancer is a malignant tumor and is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. In cervical cancer, however, results are only available from phase II trials, not from phase III trials. Significant treatment responses have already been attained for malignant melanoma and lung cancer, ahead of gynecologic cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have demonstrated marked clinical effects worldwide, and “cancer immunotherapy” has been recognized as a feasible option for cancer treatment.
