GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Alexandra S. Bercow, MD, discussed the results from a retrospective study, which evaluated the role of palliative care in women who died from cervical cancer between 2000 and 2017 at 2 institutions. She also highlighted the benefit of palliative care and why this patient population could benefit more than those with ovarian or endometrial cancers.

In February 2020, the FDA gave indications to multiple therapies meant for treatment of solid tumor and hematologic malignancies. FDA action included 10 Priority Reviews, 2 Breakthrough Therapy designations, and 2 Fast Track designations.

Floor J. Backes, MD, discusses the immunotherapeutic options available for treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

Updated results from the phase II arm of the DeCidE1 trial of DPX-Survivac demonstrated promising activity and tolerability in patients with heavily pretreated, advanced recurrent ovarian cancer, according to the developer of the agent IMV Inc.

Researchers at the Fox Chase Center have identified MRCKA, a serine/threonine-protein kinase, as a target for treating high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, the most lethal of gynecologic malignancies, for which few targeted therapies exist. The research was recently published in Science Signaling, Fox Chase announced in a press release.

To help clinicians cope with an increasing number of geriatric patients with cancer, the Association of Community Cancer Centers is addressing this problem with a 2-pronged approach that focuses on the delivery of care and diagnostic assessment.

A 56-Year-Old Female With Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

An open, multicenter phase II trial of extend-release onapristone in patients with progesterone receptor–positive recurrent granulosa cell ovarian cancer, low-grade serous ovarian/primary peritoneal cancer, or endometroid endometrial cancer will demonstrate if the investigational drug will shrink or stop the cancer.

In January 2020, the FDA approved new treatment options in gastrointestinal stromal tumors, bladder cancer, and epithelioid sarcoma. The FDA also granted several Priority Review Designations, orphan drug designations, and a Fast Track designation, as well as a Breakthrough Therapy designation.

Continuous dosing of the MEK inhibitor binimetinib plus buparlisib, a PI3K inhibitor, demonstrated promising activity as treatment of patients with ovarian cancer harboring either a RAS or BRAF mutation, according to results from a phase Ib clinical trial.

Mira Hellmann, MD, discusses how the use of PARP inhibitors as treatment of patients with gynecologic cancers has evolved since they were first introduced into the treatment landscape up to studies evaluating these therapies today in a variety of patient populations, particularly in patients with ovarian cancer.

Research has shown that patients with para-aortic lymph node metastasis, human papillomavirus-18, and those with certain histocompatibility genes in their cervical tumors also have a poor prognosis. Preclinical research suggests, however, that immune checkpoint blockade with radiation can enhance immune-mediated activity in patients who have up to stage IV disease.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Vincent Chung, MD, discussed the findings from the pilot trial evaluating the addition of dietary supplements to combination chemotherapy in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. He also highlighted the importance of these findings and the next steps necessary to evaluate the role of supplements in pancreatic cancer further.

Promising antitumor activity with durable responses were demonstrated with the combination of nivolumab and ramucirumab plus paclitaxel in a phase II study of patients with advanced gastric cancer, which wsa presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Among patients treated with the combination, the objective response rate was 37.2%, and all responders had a partial response.

Overall survival was meaningfully improved with treatment of pembrolizumab in first and later lines for patients with advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer with a high number of PD-L1–expressing cells in the tumor, lymphocytes, and macrophages compared with chemotherapy.

A subset of patients with GI cancers harboring&nbsp;<em>NTRK</em>&nbsp;gene fusions had positive responses to selective TRK inhibition with larotrectinib, confirming efficacy of the agent in this group. The results of the confirmatory trial were recently reported the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Managing A Case of Heavily Pretreated Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

A phase Ib/II clinical trial of the experimental anti-mitochondrial drug devimistat in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine has been initiated in patients with biliary tract cancer, according to a press release from Rafael Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company will collaborate with Michigan Medicine to proceed with the randomized multicenter clinical trial.

Myriad Genetics, Inc, has submitted a supplementary premarket approval application to the FDA for the myChoice CDx test for use in predicting outcomes for women with frontline platinum-responsive advanced ovarian cancer who are treated with niraparib, a PARP inhibitor, according to a press release from Myriad Genetics, Inc., the manufacturer of the test.