Dr Olawaiye on Next Steps for Investigating Relacorilant in Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

"It's quite a large dataset. We’re going to continue to look at the data as they mature and are going to conduct subgroup analyses [in order to determine] which groups benefited the most and compare [outcomes] across the groups in the study. We're excited about the secondary studies [that are going to be performed] with these data"

Alexander B. Olawaiye, MD, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, and the director of gynecologic cancer research at Magee-Women’s Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, discussed future research directions with relacorilant in combination with nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

Interim findings from the phase 3 ROSELLA trial (NCT05257408), presented during the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, demonstrated that the addition of relacorilant, a selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, to nab-paclitaxel significantly improved overall survival (OS) compared with nab-paclitaxel alone. Patients who received the combination (n = 188) achieved a median OS of 15.97 months (95% CI, 13.47–not reached) vs 11.50 months (95% CI, 10.02–13.57) in the control arm (n = 193; HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.52–0.92; log-rank P = .0121). Twelve-month OS rates were 60% and 49%, respectively.

According to Olawaiye, ongoing analyses will focus on identifying patient subgroups that may derive greater benefit from the regimen. The study team plans to perform subgroup comparisons and secondary analyses to explore the impact of clinical and molecular characteristics on outcomes, he stated.

In parallel, investigators have initiated the phase 2 BELLA trial (NCT06906341) to further evaluate relacorilant in combination with nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab (Avastin) in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, primary peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer, Olawaiye added. This trial aims to build upon ROSELLA by investigating a triplet regimen in a broader population of patients with advanced disease, he concluded.