Treatment strategies in cervical cancer: treatment of advanced disease

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with a global incidence of 604,127 and an annual death rate of 341,831 in 2020. Patients with recurrent, persistent, or metastatic disease not amenable to curative therapy represent a patient population with a dismal prognosis. Until recently, the standard of care for these patients was based on platinum doublet chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab. However, significant advances in the treatment landscape of this disease have recently been achieved with the incorporation, among others, of immunotherapy in the therapeutic armamentarium. This review summarizes the main treatment approaches developed throughout the past decades, with particular emphasis on immunotherapy and novel targeted therapies.