Ovarian Cancer

The fully human PD-L1 IgG1 antibody, avelumab, demonstrated clinical activity in patients who have previously treated, recurrent/refractory (R/R) ovarian cancer.

Results of the CHORUS trial confirm the noninferiority of primary chemotherapy followed by surgery versus primary surgery and then chemotherapy, and show that performing chemotherapy first is associated with less morbidity and mortality in patients with newly diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer.

Jeffrey N. Weitzel, MD, director, Clinical Cancer Genetics, director, Cancer Screening & Prevention Program Network, professor, City of Hope, discusses the impact of gene mutations on treatment.

Patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who took non-selective beta blockers (NSBBs) during chemotherapy had significantly improved overall survival (OS) than those who did not.

Young black women have a higher prevalence of BRCA mutations compared with that previously reported among non-Hispanic white women.

Evidence is mounting for multigene panel testing in women with suspected familial breast and/or ovarian cancer.

Robert L. Coleman, MD, professor, Ann Rife Cox Chair in Gynecology, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, vice chair, Clinical Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the toxicities associated with rucaparib in patients with ovarian cancer.

Rosemary Cress, MPH, PhD, and colleagues sought to identify long-term survival of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, as well as the epidemiological characteristics associated with such survival.

Combination therapy with birinapant and carboplatin may be more effective than either therapy alone for treatment of high-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSCs) with high levels of cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein (cIAP) in their CA125-negative cells.

Almost 10 years following a study that proved intraperitoneal (IP), or abdominal, chemotherapy, along with intravenous (IV) therapy, may add 16 months or more to the lives of women with ovarian cancer, less than half of these patients at US hospitals receive this type of treatment

Saeed Rafii, MD, PhD, MRCP, medical director, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the significant factors of clinical outcomes with olaparib in patients who have ovarian cancer.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has been selected as the site for one of two new Genome Characterization Centers (GCCs) funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute of Health (HHSN261200800001E).

A team of scientists at Lawson Health Research Institute recently discovered that ovarian cancer spheroids activate a stress metabolism molecule, LKB1, which is crucial for the survival of ovarian cancer cells.

The immunotherapy DPX-Survivac has been granted orphan drug designation as treatment ovarian cancer, based on early-phase research showing a robust immune response with the therapy in combination with low-dose cyclophosphamide.

Research may hasten the effort to determine which strains of cancer will eventually become resistant to chemotherapy, paving the way for developing more effective targeted treatments.

The cancer drug, FY26, has demonstrated high potency and efficacy compared with cisplatin and other platinum-based chemotherapies

Jeffrey Infante, MD, director, Drug Development Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses a phase Ib, open-label expansion trial examining avelumab for the treatment of patients with previously treated, recurrent or refractory ovarian cancer.

A team at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York that is studying ovarian cancer has not only discovered another mechanism by which tumors evade attack by the immune system, but is also devising a first-in-class potential treatment.

The glycoprotein CD31 was associated with improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival for patients with advanced ovarian cancer treated with frontline bevacizumab.

Robert L. Coleman, MD, FACOG, FACS, professor, Ann Rife Cox Chair in Gynecology, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, vice chair, Clinical Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the results of the ARIEL2 trial, a phase II study to identify patients with ovarian cancer likely to respond to rucaparib using tumor genetic analysis.

Rucaparib showed an overall response rate of 82% among a cohort of patients with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer in the phase II ARIEL2 study.

Patients with pretreated advanced ovarian cancer demonstrated encouraging signs of antitumor activity with monoclonal antibodies against programmed death-1 and its ligand PD-L1, according to findings from two clinical studies presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.

The added overall survival benefit seen with intraperitoneal versus intravenous chemotherapy extends beyond 10 years for patients with ovarian cancer.

The oral combination of olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, and BKM120, a PI3K inhibitor, demonstrated to be safe and clinical beneficial in women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, as well as patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

The treatment of patients with ovarian cancer has evolved from an approach focused on chemotherapy and surgery to one involving targeted therapies and monoclonal antibodies.

The FDA’s recent approval of olaparib for women with BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer marks a significant therapeutic advance for women with the malignancy, but the specific indication is far too restrictive and the drug should be offered to many more patients.

Charles A. (Trey) Leath III, MD, associate professor, gynecologic oncology, University of Alabama Birmingham Cancer Center, discusses a study that examined clinical outcomes and quality of life in ovarian cancer.

Robert L. Coleman, MD, FACOG, FACS, professor, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses a study which examined the impact of bevacizumab in ovarian cancer.

Despite their promise, checkpoint inhibitors are not effective in every patient, and research suggests the STING (stimulator of interferon genes) pathway may hold important clues as to why some tumors fail to respond.

To gain insight into this novel approach and its potential benefit, Targeted Oncology interviewed Bradley J. Monk, MD, FACOG, FACS, who presented phase II results at the 2015 SGO's Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer.