Dr. Dalton on Toxicities in the Frontline Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Heather Dalton, MD, gynecologic oncologist, Arizona Oncology, discusses toxicities in the frontline treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

Both PARP inhibitors and immunotherapy have been bursting onto the scene in ovarian cancer, most recently in the frontline setting. With the introduction of these new therapies comes class-specific toxicities that are beginning to be understood.

With PARP inhibitors, there are hematologic events and gastrointestinal toxicities. Dalton says that physicians are getting better about adjusting the dosing of PARP inhibitors when these toxicities arise. For checkpoint inhibitors, there are common but sometimes serious immune-related adverse events such as pneumonitis that need to be tended to. As time goes on, Dalton says that these toxicities will be able to be managed more effectively.