advocacy

Welcome to the Clinical Trial Round Up!

It is an exciting time for science and cervical cancer! There have been limited treatments for cervical cancer for several years but now we are seeing more clinical trials opening especially for metastatic and recurrent cervical cancer patients. If you have information on a clinical trial that you would like us to include, please email us at [email protected].

innovaTV 301 – GOG 3057

The innovaTV 301 study is testing a study drug, tisotumab vedotin, for people with cervical cancer that has spread or has come back after treatment. During the study, participants will receive either the study drug or chemotherapy treatment for cervical cancer. This study drug works in a new way and is designed to target cervical cancer cells.

Visit their website here.

E7 TCR T Cells for Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cancers

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical, throat, anal, and genital cancers. Cancers caused by HPV have a HPV protein called E7 inside of their cells. In this new therapy, researchers take a person’s blood, remove certain white blood cells, and insert genes that make them to target cancer cells that have the E7 protein. The genetically changed cells, called E7 TCR cells, are then given back to the person to fight the cancer.

Find out more here.

RTX-321

portrait of sportswoman standing in the the fields at sunrise

This Phase 1 clinical trial of RTX-321 for the treatment of HPV 16-associated cancers is an open label, multicenter, multidose, first-in-human dose escalation and expansion study designed to evaluate whether RTX-321 is tolerated, how much RTX-321 needs to be given, how often it should be given and if RTX-321 has anti-tumor activity against the cancer.

The trial is also assessing the pharmacodynamic effects of RTX-321 as measured by changes in number of CD8+ T-cells relative to baseline.

Visit their website to learn more.

Phase I & II Clinical Trial Resource

Mary Crowley Cancer Research is a specialized clinical research center that offers access to new investigational therapies through the administration of Phase I and II clinical trials. 

  • Personalized approach to cancer research
  • Clinical trials are matched to molecular information found within each cancer patient
  • Qualified Physician Investigators add to the understanding of what drives cancer and create innovative research applications that attack these drivers
  • Patient-centric focus brings the newest clinical trial options to patients at a rapid pace

Visit their website to view current Phase I and II clinical trial opportunities.

Join us for an upcoming event over clinical trials!

Don’t miss out on learning more about clinical trials and the patient experience! Join us for a collaborative event with SQZ Biotechnologies! You’ll hear the latest on cervical cancer and clinical trials from the first-hand experiences of an SQZ researcher as well as a patient focused panel. 

Register today!

AYA Week Reflections

As AYA Cancer Awareness Week draws closer, I am reflective on how much the AYA cancer community means to me. I recall how for two years after treatment, I didn’t even know this community existed and how today, I can’t imagine my life without it.

During my treatment in 2013, I didn’t want any part of the AYA cancer community because I didn’t want to be labeled as the girl with cancer. I did not want to be the youngest cancer patient in the radiation waiting room, or to be told yet again that treatment would be easy because I was young (by the way, it wasn’t), or to become more familiar with insurance deductibles and FMLA than someone twice my age. I just wanted my pre-cancer life back. I wanted to go on dates, to go to the state fair without the worry of being immunocompromised in a large crowd, and to be able to eat whatever I wanted without getting sick.

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I first met a fellow AYA cancer survivor two years after my treatment and it changed my life. I was no longer alone. Someone finally understood me. I had a community and I felt like I belonged for the first time in a long time. Alongside other AYA cancer patients and survivors, I was able to process what I had just gone through and I gained knowledge about what survivorship should look like. This growth gave me a sense of purpose as an AYA cancer survivor that I needed.

Today, I am a seven-year AYA cervical cancer survivor. I share my story with a lot less fear than I did five years ago because I want people to see that I am what an AYA cancer survivor looks like. I want people to know that a cancer diagnosis in your 20’s and 30’s is difficult to navigate, not only during treatment but as a survivor. I also share my story with medical professionals so that they can better understand the unique needs of the AYA cancer community. And I mentor AYA cancer patients and survivors, so they don’t feel the loneliness that I felt during and after treatment. No one should go through cancer alone.

I’ve watched the AYA cancer community grow since 2015 from a few scattered voices to one loud collective voice. This community’s advocacy and momentum has generated much needed attention and change that will impact not only our lives, but the lives of future AYA cancer patients and survivors. During AYA Cancer Awareness Week, we deserve to recognize and celebrate our community’s accomplishments.

Emily Hoffman is a seven-year cervical cancer survivor who was diagnosed with stage 2B cervical cancer at age 30. After cancer, Emily didn’t realize she even had an advocacy voice until she attended her first Cervivor School in 2016. Today, she is a patient advocate and active Cervivor Ambassador who shares her cancer story to raise awareness for ending cervical cancer and to educate others on the importance of cervical cancer screenings and prevention. Emily is the recipient of the 2020 Cervivor Spark Award. She is currently pursuing her certification to become a cancer registrar.