By Marty Trieschmann
The results of an international clinical trial led by Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), on the use of a novel bispecific antibody for women with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer were published today in JAMA Oncology.
Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer and death in women worldwide with approximately 660,000 new cases and 350,000 deaths each year. It is estimated that 13,820 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year, and 4,360 women in the U.S. will die from cervical cancer this year. Arkansas has one of the highest incidence and mortality rates per capita for cervical cancer in the U.S., with 720 cases reported between 2017 and 2021. The overall five-year survival rate for cervical cancer is 67%.
Recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in gynecologic oncology, Birrer led the two-year, multisite study of the bispecific antibody, Bintrafusp alpha, in 146 women with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer that had progressed during or after receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. The treatment resulted in tumor response in 22% of the patients, with 56% responding to the treatment consistently over a period of six months or more.
