GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS

Christa Dominick, MD, a gynecologic oncology fellow at University Hospitals, discusses the rationale behind this trial and the results. She also highlights her plans moving forward with other trials involving the cowpea mosaic virus in ovarian cancer.<br /> &nbsp;

Mario M. Leitao, Jr, MD, FACOG, FACS, program director of Gynecologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, highlights some of the phase I and II clinical trials in ovarian cancer currently enrolling at his institution. He also discusses the rationale behind a new trial that is expected to open soon.

Based on results from the phase III GOG-0218 trial, bevacizumab (Avastin) has been approved by the FDA&nbsp;for use in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by&nbsp;bevacizumab monotherapy, for the treatment of women with advanced ovarian cancer following initial surgical resection.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been granted an&nbsp;accelerated approval by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of patients with advanced, PD-L1&ndash;positive cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy.<br /> &nbsp;

An important step for treatment of patients with ovarian cancer has been testing for genetic alterations. Mike Janicek, MD, says that the use of genetic testing must become more common in order to push the field of ovarian cancer forward.

Patients with relapsed, advanced, high-grade ovarian cancer achieved durable responses with the PARP inhibitor niraparib (Zejula) as fourth-line therapy and beyond, the phase II QUADRA trial showed.

Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, director, Gynecologic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses results from the phase II open-label, single-arm QUADRA study evaluating niraparib in patients with relapsed ovarian cancer who have received&nbsp;&ge;3 prior chemotherapy regimens during the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.

According to findings of the IMPACT study discussed at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, overall survival was improved with personalized therapy based on tumor molecular profiling in patients with advanced, hard-to-treat cancers.

The frontline treatment of patients with ovarian cancer may potentially change in the near future, with targeted and immunotherapy strategies showing promising signals of activity.

Wui-Jin Koh, MD, has been selected as senior vice president and chief medical officer of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. This is a newly-designed position to oversee the NCCN Oncology Research Program.

Brian Burgess, DO, PhD, a first-year fellow at the University of Kentucky, discusses the biggest challenge with targeted therapies in ovarian cancer. PARP resistance has become a huge barrier in this treatment paradigm.&nbsp;

Casey Cosgrove, MD, a fellow at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed a pilot trial that screened patients with endometrial cancers for Lynch syndrome.The potential impact of this study could lead to the prevention of endometrial, ovarian, and colorectal cancers in the future, Cosgrove said.&nbsp;

Mario M. Leitao, Jr, MD, FACOG, FACS, program director of Gynecologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses what is currently being investigated in the treatment landscape of ovarian cancers.

Amanda Ramos, MD, a first-year fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, discusses the future potential of checkpoint inhibition therapy in the treatment of patients with recurrent endometrial cancers.

According to top-line results from the QUADRA study, niraparib met the primary endpoint of overall response as a fourth-line or later treatment in patients with ovarian cancer, regardless of <em>BRCA</em> status.

Olaparib tablets have been approved been the European Commission as a maintenance therapy for&nbsp;patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed high-grade, epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer, who are in a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of&nbsp;<em>BRCA</em>&nbsp;status.

Results of an interim analysis from a small phase I trial presented at the 2018 American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Conference showed that CAR T-cell therapy can&nbsp;induce next generation sequencing negativity in patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia, suggesting a &ldquo;synergistic&rdquo; relationship with hematopoietic cell transplant that could enhance patient outcomes.

Kathleen Essel, MD, a fellow at University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, discusses the findings from a recent trial investigating the safety of long-term treatment with bevacizumab in patients with ovarian cancer.&nbsp;

The FDA approved several indications throughout the month of April 2018.&nbsp;A number of drugs were granted priority review and Fast Track designation. The FDA also halted all clinical trials using&nbsp;tazemetostat as treatment, and new initiatives were introduced&nbsp;to help ease the development of genetic and genomic-based tests.&nbsp;Check out our list of all FDA happenings from April 2018.