Ovarian Cancer

Following its success in the phase III PRIMA study, frontline niraparib maintenance demonstrated positive patient-reported outcomes, as well as met biomarker-defined and other secondary endpoints, according to 3 analyses to be reported as part of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology 2020 Annual Meeting.

The FDA has accepted and granted a priority review to a supplemental Biologics License Application for pembrolizumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with tissue tumor mutational burden-high who have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.

An association was found between a lower risk of grade 3 or higher chemotherapy toxicity with higher body mass indexes and normal albumin, a protein made in the liver, levels in older adult patients with solid tumors, according to an analysis of a prospective, multicenter study.

A sudden surge in the cases of COVID-19 due to pandemic, along with efforts to contain it, has led to multiple challenges that no country has experienced in the last several decades. The global pandemic from COVID-19 poses a unique set of challenges not only for patients with cancer who need their treatment, but also for caregivers, oncologists, and the overall care team.

Treatment with an investigational targeted anti-cancer gene-therapy agent, VB-111, in addition to paclitaxel met the pre-specified efficacy criterion of an absolute percentage advantage of 10% or higher CA-125 response rate in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to results from the planned interim analysis of the phase III OVAL trial.<br /> &nbsp;

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Kashyap Patel, MD, discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of new precautions in his practice as the number of COVID-19 infected persons rises in the state.<br /> &nbsp;

Patients harboring IDH1/2 muta&shy;tions may receive benefit by the use of PARP inhibitors, with investigators initi&shy;ating clinical trials in patients across multiple different tumor types to determine the efficacy of this strategy.

Treatment with pembrolizumab demonstrated antitumor activity along with tolerable toxicity in patients with 4 different rare and hard-to-treat malignancies, according to results from a phase II study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers and published in the&nbsp;Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.

GEN-1 immunotherapy demonstrated dose-dependent efficacy results in newly diagnosed patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer when treated in combination with the standard of care, according to results from the OVATION 2 study. Based on positive data in the phase I portion, the study is moving on to phase II with enrollment expected to begin in the second half of the year.

The FDA has accepted a Biologics License Application for MYL-1402O, a proposed biosimilar to bevacizumab, according to a press release from co-developers Biocon and Mylan. The BLA is seeking approval for the biosimilar as a treatment for multiple types of cancer and the FDA has set an action date goal of December 27, 2020, for a decision on the BLA.

As the new coronavirus disease 2019 creates problems internationally, health-wise and economically, it is also becoming a cause for concern throughout the oncology community.

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.

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.

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.

An open, multicenter phase II trial of extend-release onapristone in patients with progesterone receptor&ndash;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&nbsp;RAS&nbsp;or&nbsp;BRAF&nbsp;mutation, according to results from a phase Ib 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.

Integrating a geriatric assessment into the care of older adults who are receiving cancer treatment in communi&shy;ty oncology practices improves patient and caregiver satisfaction and encourages commu&shy;nication about aging-related concerns, accord&shy;ing to results of a clinical trial that enrolled 541 patients with advanced cancer.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Eric Pujade-Lauraine, MD, PhD, discussed the data from the JAVELIN Ovarian 200 trial, which he presented at the 2019 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting. He highlighted the need for biomarkers in this space, as well as some data from an exploratory analysis from this trial.

The present and future benefits of telehealth in oncology can be observed through Tahoe For&shy;est Cancer Center and its affiliation with the UC Davis Cancer Center, use of other remote clinics, and participation in virtual tumor boards. Even though there are roadblocks to telehealth reaching more locations and more patients, the potential benefit warrants the time needed to get over those hurdles.

Preliminary data showed that the combination of sitravatinib and tislelizumab is well tolerated and may promote antitumor activity when administered to patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a press release from BieGene, Ltd, which reported data from a phase Ib study at the 2019 European Society of Oncology Immuno-Oncology Congress in Geneva, Switzerland.<br /> &nbsp;

In patients whose solid<strong> </strong>tumors harbor a mutation in <em>KRAS </em>G12C, therapy with MRTX849 has produced promising responses and acceptable toxicity across 3 tumors types, according to data presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research&ndash;National Cancer Institute&ndash;European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

Ovarian Cancer

The early development of PARP inhibitors in 2003 focused on their use in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy agents, but this was eventually abandoned because of excess toxicity.