For patients with cervical cancer, standard treatment may include surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Before a treatment regimen can become standard, it must go through a clinical trial. Clinical trials test if a potential treatment is safe and effective in humans. Clinical trials go through a series of phases, starting with a smaller group of patients and expanding to a much larger group. The video below explains the three main phases of a clinical trial.
Most cancer-related clinical trials involve possible new treatments, including vaccines, surgical approaches, and immunotherapy (using the patient’s own immune system to fight the cancer).
For some patients, a clinical trial may be the best treatment option, but any patient should carefully measure the risks and benefits involved. It’s important to understand what a clinical trial is, what your rights are as a patient, and what the risks and benefits are before making a decision. The National Institutes of Health, lists the following benefits and risks of trial participation:
Benefits:
Risks:
Before entering a clinical trial, a patient will go through the process of informed consent where they are informed of the risks and benefits specific to that trial, as well as complete details of all the tests, treatments, and procedures involved. The patient will also learn about their rights, including the right to withdraw at any time.
Clinical trials are not limited to new cervical cancer treatment options—researchers are also looking at cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, palliative care (support and symptom management), as well as psychosocial issues related to cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the National Institutes of Health, offers an extensive list of clinical trials as well as detailed information on the trial, including criteria for patients to qualify.
ClinicalTrials.gov also offers information on trials that have been completed, along with results from those trials.
There are over 100 different types of human papillomavirus, or HPV. Some types of HPV can cause genital warts and other types can cause cancer, including cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis or anus, as well as cancer in the back of the throat.
The pandemic interrupted our regularly scheduled doctor’s visits and pushed off preventative care like Pap tests.
A new study has found a dramatic drop in the rates of cervical pre-cancers among young adult women. This is great news and further proof that the HPV vaccine is working.
In the U.S., HPV infections are estimated to cause about 37,300 cases of cancer. The HPV vaccine can prevent over 90% of these cancers from ever developing.
There’s a new way to screen for cervical cancer. With self-collection, you can take a sample of cells from your vagina. You still have to go to your provider’s office, but there’s no pelvic exam, stirrups, or speculum involved.
The FDA recently approved HPV testing using self-collected samples. Experts hope allowing people to collect their own samples will increase screening rates.
An exciting new study in Scotland found no cases of invasive cervical cancer in young women who had gotten the HPV vaccine by the time they were 14.
Is one shot enough? A recent study adds to evidence that one dose of the HPV vaccine might be enough to provide protection against cervical cancer.
ASHA believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health. We envision a time when stigma is no longer associated with sexual health and our nation is united in its belief that sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life.
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