Emerging immunotherapy strategies in cervical cancer: a scoping review

This study is a scoping review designed to systematically map emerging immunotherapy strategies based on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cervical cancer. Although PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have been incorporated into treatment guidelines and have demonstrated clinical benefit in selected settings, outcomes in recurrent or metastatic disease remain suboptimal. At the same time, the therapeutic landscape is rapidly expanding, with the development of novel immune targets, next-generation antibodies, bispecific constructs, combination regimens, and sequential immunotherapy approaches. This scoping review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of ongoing clinical research activity in this evolving field. The review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Eligible studies will include ongoing interventional phase I–II clinical trials evaluating ICIs in patients with cervical cancer. Studies will be identified through ClinicalTrials.gov and the European Union Clinical Trials Register. No restrictions on registration date will be applied in order to capture all relevant trials from database inception to the final search date. Only studies involving human participants will be considered. Observational studies, preclinical research, case reports, reviews, editorials, and non-interventional designs will be excluded. A comprehensive registry-based search will be performed using disease-related and intervention-related terms, including “cervical cancer” or “cervical carcinoma” combined with immunotherapy-related keywords (e.g. immune checkpoint inhibitor, PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4) and the names of selected agents. Filters will be applied to restrict results to phase I–II interventional studies with recruiting, not yet recruiting, or unknown recruitment status. Trials reported with an “unknown” recruitment status will be included to ensure comprehensive coverage, acknowledging that this designation may reflect delays in registry updates rather than trial discontinuation. Reports assessed for eligibility were manually cross-referenced against published literature and trial reports to identify studies that may have been completed but not updated in the registry. Trials enrolling patients with solid tumors/basket trials were included if a dedicated cohort of cervical cancer patients was specified in the registry. Evidence will be synthesized using a descriptive and thematic approach, without quantitative pooling or formal assessment of study quality. The review will map the scope, characteristics, and developmental directions of investigational immunotherapy strategies, including novel immune checkpoint targets, alternative PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitor–based combinations, and immunotherapy rechallenge approaches. Findings will be presented narratively and in structured tables, and the study selection process will be illustrated using a PRISMA flow diagram adapted for registry-based scoping reviews.