What would be the next line in treatment ?
Already received cisplatin, radio and brachy. 5 years later xarbo and taxol for recurrance.... but what next, can you have more carbo and taxol?
Or is it straight to clinical trials ?
Hi xxHHxx
I remember before from chatting that you had suspicion of a recurrence, so I’m sorry that was confirmed for you. Did you get good results from the carbo/taxol? It is possible that there could be different treatments that don’t automatically mean there are only clinical trials available.
What could be next will depend your particular cancer. It could be possible to have carbo/taxol again, but there are also targeted therapies like Bevacizumab (Avastin) and Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) for example. These will depend on the particular make up of your cancer, so there is testing needed to see what might be suitable.
For example they would need to test whether or not your tumour expresses a particular protein called PDL-1 to find out whether this drug would be beneficial or not in the case of Keytruda.
Bevacizumab is normally used in conjunction with chemotherapy.
In case you haven’t seen this, I’ve put a link to clinical trials from Cancer Research UK, where there is a database you can search to find information on current trials
Getting on any trial can take time, and is not automatic for everyone. There are normally very strict criteria to join them, depending on your individual circumstances, so have you spoken to your team about any that are currently available that you could be referred to for consideration?
As I’ve had exenteration surgery, I haven’t needed further treatment for my first recurrence, so I don’t have personal knowledge of further treatments, nor clinical trials, though I have friends I’ve met along the way who have been on targeted therapies and one who joined a clinical trial for advanced cervical cancer in the UK.
The best people to speak to are your clinical team, so I’m wondering if you’ve already done that or are just looking ahead for potential options?
I hope that if anyone in the group is undergoing further treatment might come along to post their experiences.
Sarah xx
Hi again xxHHxx
I’m sorry to read you cannot have the therapies I mention in my previous reply. I’m very surprised that you’ve been told squamous cell cervical cancer is rare, as it is the most common type of cervical cancer and accounts for 70-80% of all cervical cancer cases. My own cancer was adenocarcinoma which is rarer than squamous cell. I have a friend who is on Avastin and has been for several years with no evidence of disease, so I was also surprised to see your consultant being so negative about it.
I wonder if there is another component to your cancer in addition to the squamous cell changes things for you? I’d ask for a detailed specification of your cancer to check.
Some ladies may be on clinical trials which have since closed to new patients and don’t accept further referrals, and some may be for different types of cervical cancer than yours which is why your consultant has not suggested any. The conditions to be accepted onto a trial can exclude a referral in many cases-for example having radiotherapy or a particular chemo or combination of chemo in the past. Or they may be conducted at centres in a completely different part of the country which would mean you couldn’t take part due to the need to attend the relevant hospital regularly.
I can appreciate that you would be looking for anything which might help you, so have a look through the trials database in the link I gave you and see if there is anything there you could ask about. Your consultant should be able to explain why something might not be possible, but I’m sure you’ll want to explore all available options. Maybe you need to consider a second opinion if you’re not happy with your current consultant?
Sarah xx
