The Role of Cellular and Immunotherapy in Cervical Cancer Treatment

The paradigm of cervical cancer treatment is expanding to include molecular screening, targeted immunotherapies, and vaccine research, providing new avenues for patient care. However, early detection remains the most critical determinant of survival. Advanced screening protocols are essential to bridging the gap between current therapeutic innovations and long-term patient outcomes.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Ruth D. Stephenson, DO, FACOG, FACS, gynecologic oncologist at the Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health, spoke about the importance of public awareness, access to care, and notable breakthroughs in treatment.

Targeted Oncology: Why is cervical cancer highly treatable when found early?

Ruth D. Stephenson, DO, FACOG: Cervical cancer can be definitively cured with surgery or radiation if diagnosed at an early stage. The screening test that we have, which is [human papillomavirus;HPV] testing and pap smears, can allow us to detect precancerous changes of the cervix, and therefore detect cancer much earlier, and it can be curable. We know that survival rates are very dependent on the stage, so unfortunately, in advanced cervical cancer, therapy is not curative and there is alot of ongoing research to identify more meaningful treatments for advanced and recurrent cervical cancer.

What is the role of HPV in causing the majority of cervical cancers?

Over 90% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV, which is why we incorporate that into our screening paradigm, because it's unlikely for women to get cervical cancer if they're HPV-negative. I tell people, over 80% of people will be exposed to this virus in their lifetime. Unfortunately, persistence of high risk HPV strains is the, major driver for cervical cancer.

What are the current or most recent advancements in cervical cancer treatment that patients should be aware of?

In the last 15 years, we've added 2 targeted agents, one [bevacizumab; Avastin] and one immunotherapy in our standard-of-care for locally advanced and metastatic cervical cancer. For more advanced cervical cancers, we are now doing fertility-sparing surgery and sentinel lymphadenectomies for early-stage cancers when we're staging their disease and treating their disease with surgery. There's also been a lot of promising data from cellular therapy trials and using [chimeric antigen receptor; CAR] T cell to treat recurrent and advanced cancers as well, which we have those opportunities here at Rutgers Cancer Institute—we have a nationally known immunotherapy group, and we have treated [patients with] cervical cancer with cellular therapy here.

Could you explain the importance of early detection and screening methods for cervical cancer?

Because we know HPV causes majority of cervical cancer, we have now shifted our guidelines to incorporate more HPV testing as opposed to pap smears. There are also recent guidelines on self-testing for HPV and essentially, if a woman is HPV-negative, the role for screening, pap smears, and office procedures has gone down significantly with HPV testing and screening. We are spacing out pap smears a little more these days based on that HPV triage tool that we have, but it's still important to present to your gynecologist with any abnormal symptoms and keep up with the routine, scheduled screening that's recommended by the guidelines.

Are there any notable breakthroughs or promising research in cervical cancer that you find particularly exciting?

I think the cellular therapy and CAR-T cell trials that we have available here [are exciting], [and] we've cured metastatic patients here. I think that there's a lot of work still to be done, but I think harvesting the immune system and your body's own immune response to treat this cancer has been some of the most promising treatment advances that we've had in cervical cancer. We've incorporated the addition of immunotherapy to chemotherapy and other targeted agents as well.

Are there specific challenges related to cervical cancer that you think need more public awareness?

I think that one of [the reasons] most women who do get cervical cancer in the US, is typically [because] lack of access to care and barriers to care. When we look at the cervical cancer data in the US, [a] majority of the women that end up getting a cancer or having an advanced cancer are those who have not been getting routine gynecologic exams, pap smears, and healthcare maintenance and screenings, and a lot of that has to do with access to care. There's also transgender populations and other minority populations where it's not as clear how we should be following and screening these people for cervical cancer.

What should a community oncologist know moving forward with research in this space?

I think that some exciting targets that we've seen from the [DESTINY-Pan-Tumor; NCT06973161]¹ trial is the HER2 target. Even though the expression rate isn't very high, we do see those that express that mutation responding very well to some of our new drugs. I think that's a great space for ongoing cervical cancer research as well as cellular therapy and immunotherapy trials.

With it being Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, what do you believe is most important to highlight?

Vaccines and screening. I think that cervical cancer is something that can eventually be eradicated if we are vaccinating enough of our young people, and if we are giving women access to appropriate screening tests. I don't think that cervical cancer should exist in the next 10 to 20 years. Unfortunately, in the US, our vaccination rate is not quite where we want it to be, but we're seeing cervical cancer rates are significantly declining with higher vaccination rates, however we’re seeing other HPV-related cancers on the rise, like oropharyngeal cancers and anal cancers. Again, this is part due to lack of screening, access, and awareness of these types of HPV-related cancers.

REFERENCE

1.ESPERANZA: External control arm study for T-DXd for patients with HER2 IHC3+ solid tumors. ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated December 2, 2025. Accessed January 13, 2026. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06973161