ASCO 2018: Dr. Coleman Shares Insight on Ongoing Research in Ovarian Cancer

Robert L. Coleman, MD, FACOG, FACS, professor, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses ongoing research in ovarian cancer, presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Although bevacizumab (Avastin) has played a role in the recurrent setting, Coleman claims many physicians had already incorporated it into their frontline strategy before its approval. Bevacizumab has also been tested in combination with the antibody drug conjugate mirvetuximab soravtansine. Promising preliminary data were presented at the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting, so physicians are hopeful that the combination will extend its efficacy to the clinic.

Prior to bevacizumab’s expanded label, the phase III GOG-0213 trial sought to examine the combination of bevacizumab with paclitaxel and carboplatin in platinum-sensitive patients. The primary objective of overall survival (OS) was met, which lead to its expanded indication. The trial has since examined a second primary objective of OS with surgery. Coleman says that surgery has a prominent role in frontline disease, but the trial confirmed that its role does not extend to patients with recurrent disease. DESKTOP III, presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting, likewise shed some light on the role of surgery in the recurrent setting.

Coleman predicts that physicians will see the results of many phase III trials examining PARP inhibitors in earlier lines of therapy, combinations of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and combinations of antiangiogenesis with either PARP inhibitors or immunotherapy in the coming year. Forthcoming data may also shed some light on the treatment of endometrial and cervical cancer.