GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS

The FDA has granted the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy JCAR015 a breakthrough therapy designation as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The monoclonal antibody cirmtuzumab, currently in clinical trials to treat CLL, targets ROR1 on the surface of cancerous B cells, and the agent may have a wider reach in the treatment of ovarian and other cancers.

Bevacizumab (Avastin) has been approved for patients with recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer in combination with chemotherapy. The approval was based on results from the phase III AURELIA trial.

Recent news stories profiling a cancer patient whose last hope rests on treatment by injections of the virus that causes AIDS may have created some misconceptions regarding a new cancer immunotherapy.

Translating current and emerging knowledge of the molecular drivers of ovarian cancer is yielding promising new insights into potential clinical targets, moving treatment away from historical paradigms in favor of more personalized therapeutic approaches.

PARP inhibitors represent an important class of emerging therapies for the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer and possibly other malignancies, but many scientific questions about the underlying molecular mechanisms that these agents target must be answered before they can be fully employed in clinical practice.

A statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS) was not seen with the combination of paclitaxel and the angiogenesis inhibitor trebananib when compared with paclitaxel alone for patients with recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

The investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapy CTL019 elicited complete remissions in 27 of 30 pediatric and adult patients (90%) with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 2 pilot trials.

Two agents with contrasting mechanisms of actions exert synergistic effects while limiting tumor blood supply in ovarian cancer. Patient enrollment began this month (October 2014) for a new phase 1b/2 clinical study1 to evaluate this novel combination with the VDA fosbretabulin plus pazopanib.

The FDA has assigned a priority review designation to blinatumomab as a treatment for adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-) relapsed/refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Maurie Markman, MD, discusses the role of molecular testing in gynecologic cancers.

Mary-Claire King, PhD, the researcher who identified BRCA1's linkage to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, was announced as the winner of the 2014 Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science.

Bradley Monk, MD, gynecologic oncologist, University of Arizona Cancer Center Phoenix Branch, discusses trabectedin as a potential agent to treat ovarian cancer.

Most patients with ovarian cancer present with bulky and metastatic disease. Surgery and platinum-based chemotherapies are the mainstay of treatment for newly diagnosed disease, but recurrence/resistance are common.

Jyoti D. Patel, MD, discusses a phase II trial that looked at olaparib in combination with cediranib versus olaparib alone in recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

The cobas HPV Test was approved in 2014 by the FDA as a primary tool for cervical cancer screening in women ≥25 years of age, highlighting the need for updated guidelines to direct the use of approved screening methods in clinical practice.

Richard T. Penson, MD, Bradley J. Monk, MD, and Krishnansu S. Tewari, MD, weigh in on the changing landscape of the treatment of cervical cancer.

The poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor veliparib exhibits antitumor activity and is safe and tolerable on a continuous dosing schedule when used for the treatment of patients with BRCA-positive and BRCA-wild type tumors.

Patients with a rare but aggressive form of ovarian cancer had mutations in the chromatin regulator SMARCA4, suggesting a causative role of these mutations.

A study using next-generation sequencing showed that genetic testing limited to BRCA1/2 mutations would have missed 29% of mutations that carry hereditary risk of ovarian cancer.

A new study has recommended priority targets for immunotherapy in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) by profiling the expression of certain tumor-associated antigens (TAA), called MAGE cancer-testis antigens (CTA), in a large panel of tumor samples.

David Hyman, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the results of a phase I study of MEDI3617 for advanced solid tumors.

The FDA has approved bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and topotecan as a treatment for patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer, based on the improvement in OS in the phase III GOG 240 study.

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, Section Chief, Gastrointestinal Oncology, associate professor, Internal Medicine, Pharmacology, The Ohio State University, discusses an analysis of two targeted drugs for the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Cervical cancer screening based on identification of human papillomavirus (HPV) outperformed primary liquid cytology for detection of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).