Challenges Remain in Conducting Clinical Trials for Patients With Cervical Cancer
Bradley J. Monk, MD, FACS, FACOG, discusses the remaining challenges in conducting clinical trials for patients with cervical cancer.
Bradley J. Monk, MD, FACS, FACOG, co‐director of GOG Partners, Arizona Oncology (US Oncology Network); professor of Gynecologic Oncology at University of Arizona, Creighton University; and medical director of the US Oncology Research Gynecology Program, discusses the remaining challenges in conducting clinical trials for patients with cervical cancer.
Clinical trials evaluating treatments for patients with cervical remains difficult at this time, says Monk. These patients with cervical cancer often are younger than what is traditionally observed in gynecologic cancers. The average age of women with cervical cancer is late 40s to early 50s, so these women often still have children at home, compared with patients with ovarian cancer or endometrial cancer who are usually around 60 to 70 years old.
Cervical cancer also remains underdeveloped in many ways, Monk notes. The screening paradigm and the vaccination paradigm did not provide patients with cervical cancer an exceptional opportunity for treatment in clinical trials. Overall, Monk says that at its core, clinical research in cervical cancer remains complicated.
