Immunotherapy clinical trial allows cervical cancer survivor to thrive

Jana Selman wants to share her experience on a clinical trial for cervical cancer with anyone who could benefit from knowing about it.

Unusual bleeding leads to cervical cancer diagnosis

In March 2022, she began experiencing unusual vaginal bleeding. She visited a local cancer center in her home state of Oklahoma and was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Her doctors offered her the standard treatment of chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy.

Jana, whose family business creates memorial stones for people who have passed away, did not want chemotherapy.

“I refused both and said I was just going to go be with Jesus,” says Jana, who has a strong Christian faith.

Jana visited a homeopathic center, but the cancer progressed. After her next scan, she was told the tumor was pushing against other organs inside her body. Jana was in pain and couldn’t urinate or have regular bowel movements. She ended up in the hospital in August 2022. Doctors there offered her radiation. The tumor shrank, but Jana lost a lot of weight and felt very sick from treatment.

By February 2023, scans showed that the cancer was spreading to other parts of Jana’s body. Again, she refused chemotherapy and decided to live her life, do things on her bucket list and work with her daughters to make her funeral arrangements.

Second opinion at MD Anderson leads to clinical trial

But in March 2023, Jana called MD Anderson for a second opinion and explained her circumstances and wishes to gynecologic oncologist Aaron Shafer, M.D. Shafer spoke with colleagues about clinical trial options. The team found that Jana was a good fit for the TRACTION clinical trial, a study for patients with metastatic cervical cancer who have not previously received chemotherapy.

Jana prayed about whether to enroll in the trial. She asked her family, friends and medical care team in Oklahoma for their opinions. They all agreed that she should try it. Jana said, “What do I have to lose?” She enrolled in the trial.

The TRACTION study, led by Amir Jazaeri, M.D., is a Phase II immunotherapy clinical trial using a drug called MGD019. The aim is to determine if MGD019 can help control cervical cancer in patients who have not received treatment.

While on the trial, Jana came to MD Anderson every three weeks to receive treatment through a 30-minute intravenous (IV) drip. Every nine weeks her care team would scan her body to measure the cancer.

After the first nine weeks, her care team at MD Anderson could no longer find evidence of cancer.

Leading a healthy lifestyle and feeling good

Gynecologist oncologist J. Alejandro Rauh-Hain, M.D., also a member of Jana’s care team, says Jana continues to do well on the clinical trial. She supplements the treatment with a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating, exercising and a positive outlook.

Jana adopted this healthy lifestyle after radiation, but before enrolling in the clinical trial. She believes her positive response to immunotherapy was partly due to her healthy lifestyle choices.

Since starting the clinical trial, Jana says she hasn’t felt sick. She knows not everyone has the same results.

Jana’s advice to others facing a cancer diagnosis is to do whatever their heart leads them to do. In her case, she believes seeking an alternative to chemotherapy treatment led her to the TRACTION trial. She hopes to encourage others to join this clinical trial so researchers can better understand how the immunotherapy drug MGD019 might work to treat cervical cancer in patients who have not received chemotherapy.

“Everyone at MD Anderson is so sweet, and they smile and they will help you,” Jana says.

Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.