A Novel Approach to Cervical Cancer Therapy: A Short Review

Abstract

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women worldwide, and it occurs following persistent infection. Cervical cancer incidence is tightly linked to HPV infection (human papillomavirus), and particularly, type 16 and type 18 viruses cause the majority of cases. The common therapies for cervical cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, which are often invasive or unbearable treatment methods with many side effects. They just probably slow down the disease progression or alleviate any comorbid conditions, including vaginal bleeding and pain, which is called palliative care, while novel treatment approaches, especially virus-like particles and viral oncolysate, could eliminate these complications. In this review study, we have proposed a novel approach to cervical cancer therapy focused on utilizing Newcastle disease virus as viral oncolysate with a high potential of immunity induction and low side effects. Furthermore, we have attempted to shed some light on the perspectives of novel virus-based cervical cancer immunotherapy. Finally, we review the recent findings from basic and clinical studies and also discuss the usefulness and limitations of this approach, as well as the reasons why it is believed that viral oncolysate immunotherapy may be of relevance in the treatment of human cervical cancer.