GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS

Ovarian Cancer

Heavily Pretreated Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Laura Dawson, MD, FRCPC, FASTRO, has been selected as the president-elect of the American Society for Radiation Oncology and will begin her term at the society’s 61st Annual Meeting, which is being held in Chicago, Illinois on September 15-18.

Ana Oaknin, MD, head of the Gynecologic Tumors Unit, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, and principal investigator, Gynecological Malignancies Group, explains the rationale for analyzing anti–PD-1 monotherapy with dostarlimab in patients with microsatellite instability–high and microsatellite stable endometrial cancer. 

In the phase III PRIMA trial, niraparib demonstrated a benefit in progression-free survival compared with placebo when used as maintenance therapy following platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with ovarian cancer treated in the first line. The PFS benefit was found to be statistically significant, regardless of patients’ biomarker status, meeting the primary endpoint of the trial. 

General Cancer

The investigational agent SM-88 demonstrated promising survival in the phase II TYME-88-Panc study in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.^1,2&nbsp;The&nbsp;oral modified dysfunctional tyrosine induced a median overall survival of 6.4 months in patients.<br /> &nbsp;

The Association of Community Cancer Centers has launched the Barriers to Quality Care in Ovarian Cancer project, a collaboration with AstraZeneca, Merck, and partners including the Association for Molecular Pathology, the National Society of Genetic Counselors, and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology. The project aims to understand the key issues associated with ovarian cancer care and provide guidance to help cancer centers implement better care for patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer.&nbsp;

Bradley J. Monk, MD, noted the FDA&rsquo;s approval of the biosimilar agent bevacizumab-awwb across multiple indications including metastatic colorectal cancer, non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, and cervical cancer,&nbsp;but he wondered aloud why ovarian cancer was not on the list.

Ghanshyam Yadav, MD, a first-year resident in Obstetrics Gynecology &amp; Reproductive Services, Baylor College of Medicine, talks through the results of a preclinical trial that found synergy in the combination of the PARP inhibitor olaparib and the pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor neratinib for uterine serous cancers that overexpress HER2.

In June 2019, the FDA approved a number of agents many fields, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and multiple myeloma. The FDA also approved the fifth biosimilar for trastuzumab and another biosimilar for&nbsp;bevacizumab across several indications.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology, </em>Richard T. Penson, MD,&nbsp;discussed the significance of the findings recently presented for the SOLO3 trial in patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed <em>BRCA-</em>positive ovarian cancer.

Hanneke Poort, PhD, discusses the burden of cancer-related fatigue in women with gynecologic cancers; she also highlights a new intervention technique that is being used at Dana-Farber for these patients.