Research into cervical cancer

Researchers around the world are looking at better ways to screen for and treat cervical cancer.

Go to Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials database if you are looking for a trial for cervical cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials that you think you might be able to take part in.

Click on the ‘recruiting’, ‘closed’ and ‘results’ tabs to make sure you see all the trials.

Some of the trials on this page have now stopped recruiting people. It takes time before the results are available. This is because the trial team follow the patients for a period of time and collect and analyse the results. We have included this ongoing research to give examples of the type of research being carried out in cervical cancer.

Research and clinical trials

All cancer treatments must be fully researched before they can be used for everyone. This is so we can be sure that:

• they work
• they work better than the treatments already available
• they are safe

Research into cervical screening

Using urine to screen for cervical cancer (ACES)

At the moment, the only way to test for human papillomavirus (HPV) is by doing a smear test . This is done as part of the NHS cervical screening .

This study is looking at whether doctors can use a urine test as another option for cervical screening. It is for people who are having routine cervical screening.

The urine test can pick up HPV. This is the virus that can cause cervical cancer. Many people have had HPV, and their body deals with it. But for some people, HPV might cause abnormal cells that could become cancer. 

This study aims to find out:

• whether the urine test can pick up HPV 
• whether the test can be used to screen for cervical pre cancer  
• how acceptable the urine test is 

Research into treatment for cervical cancer

Chemoradiotherapy (INTERLACE study)

Doctors often treat cervical cancer with a combination of radiotherapy  and a chemotherapy drug called cisplatin. This treatment is called chemoradiotherapy . It is a standard treatment for cervical cancer that cannot be removed with surgery.

This trial was for people with cervical cancer that cannot be removed with surgery. It looked at having carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy before chemoradiotherapy.

Researchers wanted to know whether having 2 other chemotherapy drugs called carboplatin and paclitaxel for a few weeks before chemoradiotherapy may improve treatment. This is called induction chemotherapy.

The researchers found that induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy significantly improved:

• progression free survival
• overall survival

This was in people with locally advanced cervical cancer. The researchers suggested that it should be used as a new standard of care.

Radiotherapy (OligoRARE study)

This trial is for people with oligometastatic cancer. This means you have up to 5, usually small, metastases .

In this trial, researchers look at adding stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to standard  treatment. They want to find out if it improves overall survival (OS). This is when compared to standard treatment alone.

Targeted cancer drugs

In the CRAIN study, researchers are looking at a new drug called tolinapant.

A usual treatment for cancer of the cervix is a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This is called chemoradiotherapy. Sometimes the cancer comes back, so doctors are looking for ways to improve treatment.

Tolinapant (ASTX660) is a type of targeted cancer drug  called a cancer growth blocker . It blocks certain proteins on cancer cells that help them grow and survive. Blocking this protein can kill and slow down the growth of cancer cells.

This is the first time people with cervical cancer are having tolinapant and chemoradiotherapy. So, researchers aren’t sure how well this combination of treatments will work. 

This study aims to find out:

• the best dose of tolinapant to have with chemoradiotherapy
• how safe it is to have tolinapant and chemoradiotherapy
• what happens to tolinapant in the body
• about the side effects of treatment

In another study, researchers are looking at a new drug called HMBD-001. This drug is a type of targeted drug called a monoclonal antibody . It targets a protein called HER3. Attaching itself to this protein may kill or stop the cancer cells from growing. It is for people with advanced HER3 positive solid tumours. This includes cervical cancer.

The researchers want to learn more about:

• the maximum dose of the drug that can be given on its own or with other anti cancer drugs
• the side effects and how it can be treated
• what happens with the drug inside the body
• how the drug affects cancer cells

How gut bacteria affects treatment for pelvic cancer (PELICAN-23 study)

This study is looking at gut bacteria (the microbiome ). These are natural bacteria that live in your mouth and gut. There are lots of bacteria in our gut. We know that they are important for keeping us healthy. We also know from research into other cancers that bacteria normally living in our bowels change how our body fights cancer cells.

In this study, the researchers want to know if it affects how well treatment works for certain cancers that start in the pelvis. The pelvis is the lower part of the tummy (abdomen) between the hips. 

To do this they will look at:

• poo samples

• blood samples

They analyse the poo samples for the types of bacteria in them and how they might interact with your body. 

This study aims to find out:

• whether the gut microbiome can predict how well treatment works

• if different types of cancer have different bacteria in the bowel and if these bacteria change how treatment works