Franco M. Muggia, MD, professor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses combination treatments currently being tested for the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

Muggia summarizes 1 study that looked at platinum-resistant patients who received intraperitoneal carboplatin with intraperitoneal bortezomib (Velcade), a proteasome inhibitor. Though this was a small study of approximately 20 patients, there were quite a few positive responses, says Muggia.

He also discusses combinations involving PARP inhibitors, which are quickly becoming a major element of the overall ovarian cancer treatment landscape, with 3 particular agents at the forefront. Olaparib (Lynparza) was approved in 2014 for women with BRCA-positive advanced ovarian cancer following treatment with ≥3 prior lines of chemotherapy. In August 2016, the FDA granted a priority review to rucaparib for patients with BRCA-positive advanced ovarian cancer who have received ≥2 prior lines of chemotherapy. Finally, an application was recently submitted to the FDA for niraparib as a maintenance treatment for women with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

Overall, Muggia says the intraperitoneal route appears to naturally lend itself for retreatment in this setting.