New Targeted Therapies for Advanced Cervical Cancer Delivering Positive Outcomes For Patients And Payers
New Targeted Therapies for Advanced Cervical Cancer Delivering Positive Outcomes For Patients And Payers
While cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women in the U.S., it remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women aged 20-39 years. Bradley Monk, MD, medical director of late-phase clinical research for Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), is lead author and co-author of recently published case studies detailing cutting-edge and cost effective treatments that are extending lives for women with metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer.
“Women with persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer have traditionally had a poor prognosis,” notes Dr. Monk. “Thanks to ongoing research innovations, we are responding with dramatic, life-extending treatment options.”
Dr. Monk is first author of “Cost‑Effectiveness of Pembrolizumab as First‑Line Treatment in Patients with Persistent, Recurrent or Metastatic Cervical Cancer in the United States,” published in Oncology and Therapy.
The authors conducted an analysis of a Phase 3 clinical trial, KEYNOTE-826, which showed “a prolonged plateau in progression-free survival for cervical cancer patients treated with pembrolizumab + chemotherapy. Pembrolizumab is an immunotherapy drug (known as a monoclonal antibody) that allows the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells more effectively that standard treatments.
They concluded that this treatment offers both “a substantial clinical benefit” over standard chemotherapy and one that is cost effective. According to the authors, “The approximate doubling of life-years (pembrolizumab + chemotherapy extended mean life expectancy versus chemotherapy from 1.8 to 6.7 life-years) and cost-effectiveness represents a step improvement in the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.”
Dr. Monk said, “The clinical and cost-effectiveness results can be used to assist physicians in developing treatment plans that provide the best outcomes for their patients and aid payer decision-making for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.”
A related abstract co-authored by Dr. Monk, “Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for advanced and recurrent cervical cancer: final analysis according to bevacizumab use in the randomized KEYNOTE-826 study,” published in Annals of Oncology, further examined the safety and added effectiveness of bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody medication that blocks the growth of new blood vessels that are essential for tumor growth.
The study confirmed that “the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy resulted in clinically meaningful improvements … regardless of concomitant bevacizumab use. These results provide further support for pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab as a standard of care for patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer.”
A board-certified gynecologic oncologist, Dr. Monk leads initiatives to expand and deploy late-phase trials across the statewide FCS practice. Clinical trials occur in four specific phases to determine the risks, safety and effectiveness of new therapies compared to the current standard therapy. Late-phase trials monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of new drugs and therapies that are transforming cancer treatment worldwide.
FCS provides ongoing access to more than 150 clinical trials within 29 FCS clinics in 18 counties and three Drug Development Units (early-phase) across Florida. To learn more, visit: FCS Clinical Trials.
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As a principal investigator, Dr. Monk has been involved in numerous groundbreaking studies throughout his career that are advancing treatment regiments and influencing the standard of cancer care. He has presented his findings at hundreds of national and international forums and authored more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and more than 35 book chapters focused on the prevention and treatment of gynecologic malignancies and patient reported outcomes. Dr. Monk is a past recipient of the esteemed Ernst Wertheim Award for his research in cervical cancer.
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