GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS

During a recent&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation, Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, discussed with a group of physicians the treatment options for patients with gastrointestinal cancers and the characteristics that influence his decision making. Bekaii-Saab explained his clinical decisions based on the case scenario of one patient with colorectal cancer and one with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Eric Pujade-Lauraine, MD, PhD, discusses the exploratory findings from the phase III JAVELIN Ovarian 200 trial, which investigated the use of combination avelumab plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with platinum-resistant, refractory ovarian cancer.

One set of researchers are exploring the possibility of re-challenging patients with ovarian cancer with PARP inhibitors later in the course of treatment when their disease became recurrent. As the first to examine re-challenging patients with PARP inhibitors, researchers found that patients who had prior exposure to PARP inhibitors did not develop resistance and could, therefore, receive repeat treatment with PARP inhibitors.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology,&nbsp;</em>Emese Zsiros, MD, PhD, discussed the findings from this phase II trial investigating the triplet regimen in patients with recurrent disease. In addition, she shared details for the next steps planned for this regimen.

Compared to chemotherapy, treatment with the PARP inhibitor olaparib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 38% in patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed, germline&nbsp;<em>BRCA1/2</em>-mutated ovarian cancer who had received at least 2 prior chemotherapy regimens, based on topline findings from the confirmatory phase III SOLO3 trial.

The combination of niraparib and bevacizumab demonstrated a significant increase in progression-free survival compared with niraparib alone in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer, according to the results of the randomized ENGOT-OV24 trial.<br /> &nbsp;

Mansoor Mirza, MD, chief oncologist, Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, discusses the findings from NSGO-AVANOVA2/ENGOT-OV24, the randomized controlled chemotherapy-free study of niraparib (Zejula) and bevacizumab (Avastin) versus niraparib alone in recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Announced at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, the FDA is rolling out a pilot program that will provide more information and assistance for acquiring expanded access (EA) to investigational therapies for both oncologists and patients. The program is being called Project Facilitate.

Results from a survey conducted by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology found that&nbsp;70% of female and more than half of male&nbsp;gynecologic oncologists in the United States were victims of sexual harassment in either training or practice; and of those, only 10% said they reported their experiences.

After passage of the Affordable Care Act, women with ovarian cancer who were pre-medicare-aged were more likely to be diagnosed at an early stage and receive treatment within 30 days of diagnosis compared to prior to the ACA, according to findings presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, experts in gynecology, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, lung, and breast cancers spoke to the significance of the abstracts they are most looking forward to at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Dostarlimab (TSR-042), an&nbsp;investigational anti&ndash;PD-1 therapy, demonstrated durable responses across subgroups of patients with&nbsp;microsatellite instability&ndash;high and microsatellite stable advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, according to results&nbsp;from the phase I/II GARNET study.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to novel tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy LN-145 for the treatment of patients with recurrent, metastatic, or persistent cervical cancer who have progressed on or after chemotherapy.

The FDA has lifted the partial clinical hold placed on the phase III AIM2CERV trial, which is evaluating axalimogene filolisbac (AXAL) for the treatment of patients with high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer, according to Advaxis, the developer of the investigational immunotherapy agent.

Treatment with vaginal cuff brachytherapy plus paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy was not found to be superior to pelvic radiation therapy in patients with high-intermediate and high-risk early-stage endometrial cancer, according to findings from a phase III trial recently published in the <em>Journal of Clinical Oncology</em>.

Mirvetuximab soravtansine, an antibody-drug conjugate, led to a favorable benefit-risk profile in patients with&nbsp;folate receptor alpha&ndash;positive ovarian cancer according to a comprehensive analysis of the phase III FORWARD trial.