Immune Checkpoint Therapy in Cervical Cancer

Introduction to Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is a type of malignant disease that often occurs in the cervix cells. It has become the second most common tumor in women. Many studies have shown that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the main causes of cervical cancer progression. People who carry high-risk HPV subtypes have a high risk for cervical cancer. In most countries, the Pap test or acetic acid has been broadly used for identifying precancerous changes and screening cervical cancer. Moreover, many attempts have been made to establish new technologies, including fluidic technology, to reduce the false-negative rate of cervical cancer screening.

For the treatment, cervical cancer has been classified into four stages: stages I to IV. Cervical cone biopsy or hysterectomy alone can treat early-stage cervical cancer. Advanced tumors can be treated with surgery or radiation. Also, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have been used as standard methods for treating metastatic cervical cancer. Studies are underway to detect protein markers for cervical cancer recurrence and develop vaccines to prevent cervical cancer.

Fig.1 Mechanisms of PD-1 function and inhibition. (Fritz, 2019)

Immunotherapy for Cervical Cancer

Currently, remarkable progress has been made in immunotherapy development to trigger enough immune responses to prevent, control, or kill cancer cells. Till now, a wide variety of immunotherapies have been used for the treatment of many cancer types, especially for cervical cancer. Meanwhile, pilot studies have shown that the PD-1/PD-L1 axis is an effective immune-checkpoint molecule that can inhibit the immune responses against cervical cancer. PD-1 can bind with its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, and can be expressed by activated T cells to block the function of T cell signaling pathways. The inhibition of PD-1/PD-L1 can further release the expansion of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, resulting in increased cytotoxic T cell responses.

As a result, it has been considered as a therapeutic target for developing new immunotherapies in cervical cancer treatment. Among them, antibodies and small molecule drugs are the most popular type of immunotherapies and have been evaluated in many pre-clinical trials and few clinical trials. Numerous data have demonstrated that the therapies that target immune checkpoint proteins can activate immune responses to promote the release of T cell inhibition, and thus inducing strong and sustained clinical responses.

Therefore, by continuing to grow in response to the requirements of our clients, Creative Biolabs is dedicated to exploring novel and innovative immune checkpoint targeted therapy for the treatment of different kinds of tumors. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

Reference

1. Fritz, J. M.; et al. Development of immune checkpoint therapy for cancer. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2019, 216(6): 1244-1254.

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