Ovarian Cancer

Kathleen G. Essel, MD, gynecologic oncology fellow, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma, discusses repeat exposure to PARP inhibitors in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

Considering the decades of clinical investigation involving cytotoxic therapy of malignant disease, it is remarkable— even disconcerting—just how little is understood about the optimal delivery of this critical cancer treatment strategy.

Robert Coleman, MD, professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the benefit of rucaparib in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, director, Gynecologic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses individualized dosing of niraparib in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

An updated guideline (version 1.2019) from the NCCN for the management of ovarian cancer recommends specific PARP inhibitors for the treatment of recurrent disease, describes patient selection criteria for each agent, and establishes criteria for PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy.

Chip Landen, MD, associate professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Virginia Health System, discusses the role of p53 mutations in patients with ovarian cancer.

The ongoing phase III JAVELIN Ovarian PARP 100 study, which was evaluating the efficacy and safety of avelumab in combination with chemotherapy followed by maintenance avelumab in combination with talazoparib in patients with locally advanced or metastatic ovarian cancer, has been discontinued.

Combination use of olaparib and neratinib may represent a novel therapeutic option for chemotherapy-resistant patients with HER2-positive, homologous recombination–proficient ovarian cancer tumors.

The addition of the dendritic cell-based immunotherapy DCVAC/OvCA to standard carboplatin and gemcitabine led to a significant improvement in overall survival in patients with relapsed, platinum-sensitive, epithelial ovarian cancer.

Karen H. Lu, MD, professor and chair in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discusses the challenges of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy in women with an increased risk for hereditary ovarian cancer.

Jonathan Ledermann, MD, professor of medical oncology at UCL Cancer Institute in London, discusses the growing use of PARP inhibitors in maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer in an interview during the 2019 SGO Annual Meeting.

Combination therapy with pembrolizumab, bevacizumab, and metronomic cyclophosphamide induced a 95% disease control rate and 40% overall response rate among women with recurrent ovarian cancer.

Lenvatinib in combination with weekly paclitaxel induced activity among those with recurrent endometrial and platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer, resulting in a 65% overall response rate.

Kathleen N. Moore, MD, associate director for clinical research, gynecologic oncologist at The Stephenson Cancer Center, The University of Oklahoma, explores the impact of the SOLO-1 trial in the field of ovarian cancer, in particular, the benefits olaparib provides and the light it shines on the importance of using genetic testing to inform treatment decisions.

Adverse events decreased among patients with high-risk ovarian cancer who received a 200- or 300-mg individualized starting dose of niraparib, based upon baseline bodyweight and platelet count, compared with a 300-mg fixed starting dose.

Prior exposure to PARP inhibitor treatment may not lead to resistance in future use with these agents in women with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, suggesting that repeat use could become more common.

Robert Coleman, MD, professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the effect of age on the efficacy of rucaparib (Rubraca) in patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma.

Patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who received niraparib maintenance therapy experienced more progression-free time without experiencing symptoms or toxicity compared with placebo; the benefit was 4-fold for those with germline (g) BRCA-mutated disease and 2-fold for non-gBRCA-mutated ovarian cancer.

Panagiotis A. Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, director of Translational Research, Gynecologic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the role of immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

The immediate future of clinical investigation in ovarian cancer is remarkably exciting, with a number of novel agents and combination strategies currently being examined in multiple clinical trials.

Susana Campos, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses differences between PARP inhibitors in recurrent ovarian cancer.

Mirvetuximab soravtansine did not improve progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy in patients with folate receptor alpha–positive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and in an overall patient population, missing the primary endpoint of the phase III FORWARD I trial.

The role of intraperitoneal chemotherapy in epithelial ovarian cancer has been a controversial subject for almost 3 decades; now, investigators are moving away from its use.

Rachel N. Grisham, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses MEK inhibition in the treatment of patients with low-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Chip Landen, MD, associate professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Virginia Health System, discusses the molecular subtypes of ovarian cancer.