Ovarian Cancer

Allison W. Kurian, MD, MSc, associate professor of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, discusses two ongoing trials utilizing multi-gene panels to uncover previously undetected risks in patients with breast and ovarian cancer.

Multigene panel testing may uncover new risks in breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

BRCA mutation testing in patients with ovarian cancer could mean a world of difference in treatment, says Robert Coleman, MD.

Early identification of BRCA mutations can significantly help inform future treatment choices for patients with ovarian cancer, says Leslie Randall, MD.

A novel dual-pathway inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis passed a preliminary clinical test, demonstrating manageable toxicity and biomarker evidence of engagement with the drug's targets, as reported at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Robert L. Coleman, MD, discusses the importance of early BRCA testing for patients with ovarian cancer.

The largest-ever genetic analysis of ovarian cancer patients yielded a short list of 11 suspect germline genetic mutations that may be associated with an increased risk for developing ovarian cancer, according to an oral presentation at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Loss of genomic heterozygosity is a marker for the efficacy of rucaparib even in patients without BRCA 1 and 2 mutations, according to a poster presented Monday at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

It is feasible to administer the PARP inhibitor niraparib in combination with bevacizumab to patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer with manageable toxicities. The results of a phase I study (NCT02354131) in 12 patients were presented during a poster session at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Napabucasin (BBI-608, BB608) is a first-in-class cancer "stemness" inhibitor that targets the STAT3 pathway, has acceptable toxicity, and shows some antitumor activity in combination with paclitaxel in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Results of an early phase trial were presented at a poster session at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Avelumab (MSB0010718C), a fully human anti-PD-L1 (programmed death-1 receptor ligand) IgG1 antibody, showed activity in patients with heavily pretreated recurrent or refractory ovarian cancer with acceptable toxicity in the phase Ib JAVELIN Solid Tumor trial.

The PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) significantly increased overall survival (OS) in women with platinum-sensitive relapsed serous ovarian cancer when given as maintenance monotherapy. These interim results, a third updated survival analysis, come from an extension of the Study 19 phase II trial and were presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Durvalumab, an investigational PD-L1 targeting drug, is the subject of a unique ongoing basket trial being conducted by the National Institutes of Health, and was part of a single arm phase I combination therapy study of the drug in 19 patients with cervical cancer, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), ovarian cancer, or uterine leiomyosarcoma.

Findings from a population-based study reported at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting revealed that young black women with breast cancer are much less likely to undergo testing for the BRCA gene or to get risk reducing prophylactic mastectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy than other women.

Neratinib, an experimental TKI being developed for breast cancer, achieved a 36% clinical benefit rate in a phase II trial, according to a poster presented June 5, 2016 at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IP) was well tolerated by patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and reduced the risk of progressive disease.

Sue Naeyaert, senior director of Biosimilars Policy, EMD Serono, discusses the long-term impact that biosimilars could potentially have on the field of oncology.

Intraperitoneal (IP) therapy was not superior to intravenous (IV) treatment when used in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) as a regimen for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, according to phase III findings from the GOG-252 study.

Tuya Pal, MD, discusses the importance of genetic risk assessment shaping management guidelines in ovarian cancer.

Results from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) have shown that alterations in gene copy number (ie, amplifications or deletions) are an important characteristic of high-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSOC).

Yael Cohen, MD, discusses VB111, a highly targeted anti-angiogenic agent. The treatment is currently going through a phase III trial for treating glioblastoma, phase I trial for thyroid cancer and phase II trial for ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer outcomes appear to be improved in women with a history of oral contraceptive use, according to a retrospective study recently published in BMC Cancer.

UCLA researchers have discovered a new drug that helps reduce ascites in patients with ovarian cancer through inhibiting certain receptors.

Patients with ovarian cancer who have high-to-medium expression of folate receptor alpha responded well overall to mirvetuximab soravtansine.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is increasingly used in advanced ovarian cancer, even though it has not been shown to improve survival versus primary cytoreduction.