“Integrating clinical trials and newer therapies earlier in a patient’s ovarian cancer treatment journey can make a significant difference in their outcome,” said Angela Jain, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology; Chief, Division of Gynecologic Medical Oncology; and Clinical Director of GYN/Well Women’s Health Clinical Service Line.

A case in point is a promising recent FDA-approved therapy for platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer using relacorilant with nab-paclitaxel. Relacorilant is a first-in-class therapy that blocks the glucocorticoid receptor and helps patients respond more effectively to chemotherapy, which significantly prolonged progression-free survival and was well-tolerated.

Another noteworthy therapy for platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer with a PD-L1 expression is using the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) in combination with paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. Pembrolizumab demonstrated statistically significant improvement for patients with ovarian cancer and was well-tolerated, as it has been for those with non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, and gastric cancers.

Some clinicians consider new, lesser-known therapies or those in clinical trials as last-resort treatments, but it’s worth noting that relacorilant and pembrolizumab immunotherapy were in ovarian cancer clinical trials until very recently. Clinicians are now hopeful of new additions to treat this difficult-to-manage disease. “While these newest therapies are not for early-stage ovarian cancer, patients could receive them as second-, third-, and fourth-line therapies—a timely intervention since patients with ovarian cancer can sometimes receive ten different lines of therapy. So, waiting may not be the best strategy,” said Jain.

In the pipeline for advanced ovarian cancer is a phase 1/2 study of Rina-S, a folate receptor alpha (FR?)-targeted antibody-drug conjugate and other trials that venture into new clinical territory.

“The infrastructure at Fox Chase – Temple is built around bold research and results, with multidisciplinary teams dedicated to supporting clinical trials and patient care that includes sophisticated biomarker and genetic testing, nationally recognized researchers and clinicians, and an unstoppable drive to dismantle diseases like ovarian cancer.”