6 March 2024 | Dimitrios Stefanoudakis, Evaggelia Karopoulou, Alkis Matsas, Georgia Anna Katsampoulia, Ermioni Tsarna, Eleni Stamoula, Panagiotis Christopoulos
Gynecological cancers, including cervical and endometrial cancers, pose significant health burdens for women worldwide. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy to harness the body's immune system to combat these cancers. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape and future directions of immunotherapy in cervical and endometrial cancer.
**Key Findings:**
1. **Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs):** ICIs, such as anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies, have shown remarkable clinical efficacy in certain gynecological malignancies, particularly in advanced or recurrent cases. Ongoing research on cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapies holds promise for personalized and targeted treatment options.
2. **Cancer Vaccines:** Cancer vaccines aim to trigger specific and long-lasting immune responses against tumor antigens. While only one therapeutic cancer vaccine has gained approval, ongoing research focuses on enhancing DNA vaccine efficacy through various strategies.
3. **Adoptive Cell Therapies (ACT):** ACT, including TCR-T therapy and CAR-T therapy, has shown efficacy but can lead to severe side effects. Strategies to mitigate these effects include incorporating safety switches and using logic gate CARs to enhance specificity.
4. **Combination Approaches:** Combining ICIs with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other immunomodulatory treatments can enhance overall treatment efficacy. Ongoing trials are evaluating the potential benefits of combining therapeutic vaccines with ICIs and other treatments.
**Cervical Cancer:**
- **Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors:** Pembrolizumab and nivolumab have shown promising results in advanced cervical cancer, with FDA approval for relapsed or metastatic cases. Ongoing trials explore combination therapies and vaccine approaches targeting HPV-related cancers.
- **Cancer Vaccines:** Several studies have explored the effectiveness of HPV-specific vaccines, including recombinant vaccinia virus vaccines and dendritic cell vaccinations, showing safety and immune responses.
- **Adoptive Cell Therapies:** TCR-transduced CD4+ T-cell therapy and TILs have shown objective responses in advanced metastatic cervical cancer, with manageable toxicities.
- **Combination Approaches:** Combining ICIs with chemotherapy has shown modest efficacy and manageable safety profiles, with potential benefits in patients with deficient mismatch repair tumors.
**Endometrial Cancer:**
- **Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors:** ICIs, such as pembrolizumab and avelumab, have demonstrated durable antitumor activity in PD-L1-positive advanced endometrial cancer patients. Ongoing trials explore combinations with chemotherapy and other treatments.
- **Combination Approaches:** Combining ICIs with other immunotherapies, such as epacadostat and lenvatinib, has shown meaningful clinical responses, with manageable but notable treatment-related adverse events.
**Conclusions:**
Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising avenue for treating gynecological cancers, offering improved outcomes andGynecological cancers, including cervical and endometrial cancers, pose significant health burdens for women worldwide. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy to harness the body's immune system to combat these cancers. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape and future directions of immunotherapy in cervical and endometrial cancer.
**Key Findings:**
1. **Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs):** ICIs, such as anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies, have shown remarkable clinical efficacy in certain gynecological malignancies, particularly in advanced or recurrent cases. Ongoing research on cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapies holds promise for personalized and targeted treatment options.
2. **Cancer Vaccines:** Cancer vaccines aim to trigger specific and long-lasting immune responses against tumor antigens. While only one therapeutic cancer vaccine has gained approval, ongoing research focuses on enhancing DNA vaccine efficacy through various strategies.
3. **Adoptive Cell Therapies (ACT):** ACT, including TCR-T therapy and CAR-T therapy, has shown efficacy but can lead to severe side effects. Strategies to mitigate these effects include incorporating safety switches and using logic gate CARs to enhance specificity.
4. **Combination Approaches:** Combining ICIs with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other immunomodulatory treatments can enhance overall treatment efficacy. Ongoing trials are evaluating the potential benefits of combining therapeutic vaccines with ICIs and other treatments.
**Cervical Cancer:**
- **Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors:** Pembrolizumab and nivolumab have shown promising results in advanced cervical cancer, with FDA approval for relapsed or metastatic cases. Ongoing trials explore combination therapies and vaccine approaches targeting HPV-related cancers.
- **Cancer Vaccines:** Several studies have explored the effectiveness of HPV-specific vaccines, including recombinant vaccinia virus vaccines and dendritic cell vaccinations, showing safety and immune responses.
- **Adoptive Cell Therapies:** TCR-transduced CD4+ T-cell therapy and TILs have shown objective responses in advanced metastatic cervical cancer, with manageable toxicities.
- **Combination Approaches:** Combining ICIs with chemotherapy has shown modest efficacy and manageable safety profiles, with potential benefits in patients with deficient mismatch repair tumors.
**Endometrial Cancer:**
- **Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors:** ICIs, such as pembrolizumab and avelumab, have demonstrated durable antitumor activity in PD-L1-positive advanced endometrial cancer patients. Ongoing trials explore combinations with chemotherapy and other treatments.
- **Combination Approaches:** Combining ICIs with other immunotherapies, such as epacadostat and lenvatinib, has shown meaningful clinical responses, with manageable but notable treatment-related adverse events.
**Conclusions:**
Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising avenue for treating gynecological cancers, offering improved outcomes and