Ovarian Cancer

The case for the combination of olaparib and durvalumab in patients with metastatic breast cancer and relapsed ovarian cancer with germline BRCA mutations was strengthened based on the updated results from the phase I/II MEDIOLA, which was covered in 2 separate presentations at the 2019 ESMO Congress.

Robert L. Coleman, MD, professor of medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, explains the rationale for the VELIA trial of veliparib with frontline chemotherapy and maintenance in patients with high-grade ovarian cancer.

Following the 2019 ESMO Congress, experts across various fields highlighted some next steps and how these treatment options will improve the treatment landscape for patients with ovarian, lung, breast, GI, or GU cancers. Overall, the abstracts presented at this year’s meeting will change the treatment paradigm in a number of patient populations.

The FDA has granted a fast track designation to navicixizumab for the treatment of patients with high-grade ovarian, primary peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer who have received ≥3 prior therapies and/or prior bevacizumab.

In a randomized trial, treatment with MEK inhibitor trametinib showed significant improvement in progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with recurrent, low-grade serous ovarian cancer.<br /> &nbsp;

The addition of direct oral oral anticoagulants for the management of venous thromboembolism in patients with cancer is the latest change to previous guidelines issued by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer experienced a 32% reduction in the risk of progression or death with frontline combination veliparib plus carboplatin and paclitaxel followed by veliparib maintenance, according to the data from the phase III VELIA trial presented at the 2019 ESMO Congress, and simultaneously published in the&nbsp;New England Journal of Medicine.

Using a measure known as the growth modulation index, patients with TRK fusion&ndash;positive cancers who were treated with larotrectinib had a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with the time to progression on their prior treatment, an analysis of patients enrolled in 1 of 3 clinical trials has found.

Three clinical trials presented at the 2019 ESMO Congress show that the tropomyosin receptor kinase&nbsp;inhibitor larotrectinib continues to show anti-tumor activity, including long-lasting objective responses and low toxicity, according to results from an integrated analysis.

Robert L. Coleman, MD, FACOG, FACS, discusses&nbsp;the results of the phase III VELIA trial in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.&nbsp;

The combination of olaparib and bevacizumab as frontline maintenance improved the median progression-free survival by 5.5 months over bevacizumab and placebo in patients with&nbsp;newly diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer following prior treatment with a platinum-based chemotherapy plus bevacizumab, according to the phase III PAOLA-1 findings presented at the 2019 ESMO Congress.

Median progression-free survival was improved by 5.6 months with PARP inhibitor niraparib as first-line treatment for patients with newly diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer who responded to platinum-based chemotherapy&nbsp;compared with placebo, according to data from the phase III PRIMA study presented at the ESMO Congress 2019 and simultaneously published in the <em>New England Journal of Medicine</em>.

Cediranib in combination with olaparib demonstrated an improvement in&nbsp;progression-free survival when used as treatment for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC). However, the difference in PFS compared with chemotherapy did not achieve statistical significance, according to a randomized trial presented at the 2019 ESMO Congress.

In the phase III PRIMA trial, niraparib demonstrated a benefit in progression-free survival compared with placebo when used as maintenance therapy following platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with ovarian cancer treated in the first line.&nbsp;The PFS benefit was found to be statistically significant, regardless of patients&rsquo; biomarker status, meeting the primary endpoint of the trial.&nbsp;

General Cancer

The Association of Community Cancer Centers has launched the Barriers to Quality Care in Ovarian Cancer project, a collaboration with AstraZeneca, Merck, and partners including the Association for Molecular Pathology, the National Society of Genetic Counselors, and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology. The project aims to understand the key issues associated with ovarian cancer care and provide guidance to help cancer centers implement better care for patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer.&nbsp;

Bradley J. Monk, MD, noted the FDA&rsquo;s approval of the biosimilar agent bevacizumab-awwb across multiple indications including metastatic colorectal cancer, non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, and cervical cancer,&nbsp;but he wondered aloud why ovarian cancer was not on the list.