Dr. Markman on the Search for Actionable Biomarkers in Ovarian Cancer

Maurie Markman, MD, president, Medicine and Science, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, editor-in-chief, OncologyLive, discusses the search for actionable biomarkers in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

Among the many novel agents coming down the pipeline, Markman explains that biomarker research should be a top priority for oncologists in this space. Recent research has shown extremely favorable responses for these patients, involving not just tumor shrinkage, but also no evidence of disease progression for up to 2 years. Therefore, he says, the next step should involve finding out who exactly these patients are who respond to certain therapies in order to extend these benefits to as many individuals as possible.

There's a great deal of interest in investigating the mutational tumor burden in ovarian cancer, explains Markman. At the moment, though, oncologists are still trying to answer these questions in relation to immune targeting, and more biomarker studies are warranted.