Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. It usually develops slowly. However, it can resist chemotherapy and radiation therapy, especially in advanced stages, leading to frequent recurrences.
Conventional treatments include surgical removal of the tumor followed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Surgical Treatments for Cervical Cancer
Several types of surgeries are used, mostly dependent on initial tumor staging:
- Conization: Removal of a cone-shaped tissue fragment from the cervix containing malignant cells, used in very early stages.
- Hysterectomy: Removal of the uterus. It can be total (removing only the uterus and cervix) or radical (removing the uterus, cervix, part of the vagina, and surrounding tissues), depending on the cancer stage.
- Radical Trachelectomy: Removal of the cervix, surrounding tissues, and the upper part of the vagina.
Chemotherapy for Cervical Cancer
Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells by killing them or stopping cell division. It can be used alone or in combination with other treatment modalities.
Radiation Therapy for Cervical Cancer
There are two main types: external beam radiation therapy and internal radiation therapy (brachytherapy). However, radiation affects both cancerous and healthy cells, leading to side effects such as bladder and bowel dysfunction and vaginal narrowing.
Immunotherapy for Cervical Cancer
Innovative methods like immunotherapy are also used. Traditional immunotherapy includes targeted therapy drugs and immunomodulators:
- Targeted Therapy Drugs: In later disease stages, targeted therapies like Tisotumab-Vedotin, an antibody-drug-conjugate, may be used. These drugs carry their chemotherapeutic substances together with a molecule that is targeted towards an antigen which is present on the cancer cell, reducing side effects of the therapy.
- Immunomodulators: Such as checkpoint inhibitors, which help the immune system to recognize cancer cells again that evaded their detection mechanisms.
- Anti-angiogenic Drugs: These pharmaceuticals, like Bevacizumab, prevent formation of new blood vessels, so oxygen and nutritional supply to the growing demand of the tumor is shrinking.
At Biotherapy International, we use experimental immunotherapies like oncolytic viruses, cancer vaccines, and the ATACK method for cervical cancer treatment.
Oncolytic Viruses
Oncolytic viruses can be used at any stage if the patient’s clinical condition allows. They are safe for humans, targeting only cancer cells and sparing healthy tissues. They penetrate cancer cells, causing programmed cell death. Once the cell dies, viral particles enter the bloodstream and attack other cancer cells. Additionally, these viruses stimulate the patient’s immune system to fight the tumor by making cancer cells more recognizable to the immune system. We administer oncolytic viruses intravenously, directly into the tumor, or in the surrounding tissues. For example, if a patient has ascites (fluid buildup in the abdomen), viruses can be injected directly into the ascitic fluid and lymphatic system.
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines teach the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. They work similarly to how the immune system responds to infections. These vaccines are personalized using tissue samples obtained during surgery. We recommend cryopreserving the tumor sample in our Tumor Bank to ensure the possibility of this treatment.
ATACK Method
The ATACK (using allogeneic targeted activated cancer killers) can be used for cervical cancer. It involves using deliberately incompatible donor cells, including T-cells, NK-cells, and NKT-cells, which primarily target cancer cells. This combination of incompatible killer cells destroys cancer cells through a mechanism similar to organ rejection. The ATACK method is most effective when minimal residual disease is achieved using traditional treatments, meaning only a minimal number of tumor cells remain or the tumor size is significantly reduced.
Cervical Cancer Prognosis
The survival prognosis depends largely on the stage at which the diagnosis is made. A key statistical indicator is the 5-year relative survival rate, which compares the percentage of people with the same type and stage of cervical cancer who are alive five years after diagnosis to the general population. Survival rates decline significantly with recurrences:
- Stage 1-2 (cancer confined to the cervix or nearby tissues): 91%
- Stage 3 (cancer spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes): 60%
- Stage 4 (cancer spread to distant parts like the bladder, liver, or bones): 19%
