Dr. Visvanathan on the Rationale for Evaluating Lipophilic Statins in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Kala Visvanathan, MD, MBBS, MHS, director, Clinical Cancer Genetics and Prevention Service, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses the rationale for ​evaluating lipophilic statins in epithelial ovarian cancer. 

Although advances are being made in the epithelial ovarian cancer space, the 5-year overall survival ​rate is still lower than 50%, says Visvanathan. ​

Additionally, cancer is a global problem, Visvanathan explains. As such, mitigating the financial toxicities associated with the ​costs of therapy ​is important.

Repurposing an existing agent that has biological rationale and encouraging data may be an effective strategy to minimize the cost of drug development, says Visvanathan. 

​Findings from an observational study ​presented during the virtual American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting II ​demonstrated a 43% overall reduction in epithelial ovarian cancer mortality with lipophilic statins, which are typically used to lower blood cholesterol, concludes Visvanathan.