Dr. Zamarin on Novel Immunotherapy Approaches in Gynecologic Cancers

Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses some of the novel approaches with immunotherapy that he would like to explore in the future treatment of patients with gynecologic cancers.

According to Zamarin, we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of immunotherapeutic regimens in this space. Combination treatments involving PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies and CTLA inhibitors are commonly investigated at the present time.

Gynecologic cancers specifically offer opportunities to assess locoregional approaches, says Zamarin. For example, locoregional intraperitoneal chemotherapy is a standard chemotherapy approach that is already approved for the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer. Generally speaking, many gynecologic cancers often spread through the peritoneum, thus supporting the rationale to explore the use of these agents directly in the peritoneal cavity. Future treatment approaches should continue to investigate this, he says.