title: Emerging drugs for cervical cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a shortage of therapeutical agents for invasive cervical cancer in late stages of development; however, a number of promising molecules are currently in early phases of development.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review briefly discusses the current achievements in treating cervical cancer with an emphasis in emerging agents based on a literature search on pubmed and related sites for cervical cancer information. This is not a systematic review.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In advanced disease, modest survival gains have been achieved with cisplatin doublets. Contrariwise, chemoradiation has increased survival rates in locally advanced disease, but there is still room for improvement. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies are promising molecules that are at present in late-phase development, but a high number of miscellaneous agents are in early development. Strong experimental bases support that the 'Achilles' heel' of cervical cancer are the HPV-E6/E7 oncogenes. Unfortunately, agents aimed at targeting these cervical cancer-driven players are found in very early development; hence, major research efforts must be focused on developing technological strategies for their effective targeting using nucleic acid-based vehicles for safe and effective delivery to cancer cells as well as accelerating the search for small-molecule inhibitors of E6/E7 themselves or their interacting cellular proteins.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Research, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología-México (INCan), Mexico City, Mexico. alfonso_duenasg@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dueñas-Gonzalez
authors.forename: Lucely
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cetina
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coronel
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cervantes-Madrid
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents