Emerging drugs for cervical cancer

Abstract

Introduction: There is a shortage of therapeutical agents for invasive cervical cancer in late stages of development; however, a number of promising molecules are currently in early phases of development.

Areas covered: This review briefly discusses the current achievements in treating cervical cancer with an emphasis in emerging agents based on a literature search on pubmed and related sites for cervical cancer information. This is not a systematic review.

Expert opinion: In advanced disease, modest survival gains have been achieved with cisplatin doublets. Contrariwise, chemoradiation has increased survival rates in locally advanced disease, but there is still room for improvement. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies are promising molecules that are at present in late-phase development, but a high number of miscellaneous agents are in early development. Strong experimental bases support that the ‘Achilles’ heel' of cervical cancer are the HPV-E6/E7 oncogenes. Unfortunately, agents aimed at targeting these cervical cancer-driven players are found in very early development; hence, major research efforts must be focused on developing technological strategies for their effective targeting using nucleic acid-based vehicles for safe and effective delivery to cancer cells as well as accelerating the search for small-molecule inhibitors of E6/E7 themselves or their interacting cellular proteins.

Keywords::

• advanced cervical cancer
• chemoradiation
• chemotherapy
• E6/E7 oncogenes
• histone deacetylase inhibitors
• HPV
• locally advanced cervical cancer
• monoclonal antibodies
• novel cytotoxics
• proteasome inhibitors
• radiosensitizers
• tyrosine kinase inhibitors