Ovarian Cancer

Olaparib maintenance monotherapy not only delays disease progression but also improves overall survival (OS) in women with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer and a BRCA mutation.

This real-world study based primarily on community-based practice data showed that a key predictor of time to next treatment and mortality in patients with advanced ovarian cancer was visible residual disease.

With a follow-up of >5 years, women with relapsed platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer and a BRCA mutation who participated in the multicenter phase 3 SOLO2 trial lived >1 year longer if randomized to maintenance olaparib compared with placebo, according to data released at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program.

Ovarian cancers with BRCA mutations are less immunogenic than other DNA repair–deficient tumors.

Patients with ovarian cancer can respond to immunotherapy, but rationally designed synergistic combinations will be necessary to enhance upfront efficacy and to sustain durability, said Daniel J. Powell, Jr, PhD, Scientific Director of Immunotherapy, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, at the 2019 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium.

Using its priority review process, on March 27, 2017, the FDA approved niraparib (Zejula; Tesaro), an oral PARP inhibitor, for the maintenance treatment of adults with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer whose tumors have completely or partially responded to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Frank Riessman’s Helper Theory (1965) posits that peer support networks can be powerful tools to extend care delivery—benefiting both the giver and receiver of informal care.

Endometrial and ovarian cancers are the sixth and seventh most common cancers in women worldwide.

Oral cediranib, an investigational VEGF inhibitor, in combination with a PARP or chemotherapy inhibitor, appears to have a survival benefit in women with relapsed platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, according to data from 2 studies presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting.