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Promising new treatment option for women with recurrent ovarian cancer
September 16, 2008Combining the new drug trabectedin with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin provides clinical benefit to women with relapsed ovarian cancer, according to new results presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.
The combination, which importantly does not include a platinum drug, challenges the current standard of treatment for women whose cancer recurs at least 6 months after first-line treatment, said Associate Prof. Bradley J. Monk from the University of California Irvine Medical Center.
"This trial, which included almost two-thirds such women, challenges this traditional paradigm and suggests that a non-platinum doublet is also effective in this setting," he said. "Trabectedin represents a 'new chemical entity' in North America and if approved by the FDA, would be an important new option for women with recurrent ovarian cancer."
Trabectedin, a synthetic version of a compound first isolated from sea-squirts, has been granted marketing approval in Europe for the treatment of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma.
In the latest trial, an international group of researchers studied the combination in 672 women whose ovarian cancer had progressed after first-line therapy. Half the women received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 30 mg/m2 over 60 min plus trabectedin 1.1mg/m2 over 3 hours every 3 weeks, the remainder received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 alone every 4 weeks.
The median length of progression-free survival for women on the combination therapy was 7.3 months, the researchers found, compared to 5.8 months for those treated with the single drug. For those who had relapsed more than six months after the first-line therapy, the median progression-free survival time was 9.2 months for the combination treatment, compared to 7.5 months for patients in the other arm.
"This drug appears active in all sub-groups included in the trial, but like all agents is most active among those with longer time intervals since their front-line chemotherapy treatment," Prof. Monk said.
"Positive trials in recurrent ovarian cancer are rare and have almost always led to newly approved therapeutic regimens," he said. "This combination will undoubtedly be carefully evaluated by the FDA and if approved would give women with ovarian cancer another much-needed option."
European Society for Medical Oncology
Trabectedin, a synthetic version of a compound first isolated from sea-squirts, has been granted marketing approval in Europe for the treatment of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma.
In the latest trial, an international group of researchers studied the combination in 672 women whose ovarian cancer had progressed after first-line therapy. Half the women received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 30 mg/m2 over 60 min plus trabectedin 1.1mg/m2 over 3 hours every 3 weeks, the remainder received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 alone every 4 weeks.
The median length of progression-free survival for women on the combination therapy was 7.3 months, the researchers found, compared to 5.8 months for those treated with the single drug. For those who had relapsed more than six months after the first-line therapy, the median progression-free survival time was 9.2 months for the combination treatment, compared to 7.5 months for patients in the other arm.
"This drug appears active in all sub-groups included in the trial, but like all agents is most active among those with longer time intervals since their front-line chemotherapy treatment," Prof. Monk said.
"Positive trials in recurrent ovarian cancer are rare and have almost always led to newly approved therapeutic regimens," he said. "This combination will undoubtedly be carefully evaluated by the FDA and if approved would give women with ovarian cancer another much-needed option."
European Society for Medical Oncology
Ovarian Cancer Current Events and Ovarian Cancer News RSSFDA approved leukemia drugs shows promise in ovarian cancer cells
The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found.
American Dietetic Association Releases Updated Position Paper Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding
The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible.
Metals could forge new cancer drug
Drugs made using unusual metals could form an effective treatment against colon and ovarian cancer, including cancerous cells that have developed immunity to other drugs, according to research at the University of Warwick and the University of Leeds.
Breast cancer patients with high risk gene diagnosed 6 years earlier than generation before
Women with a deleterious gene mutation are diagnosed with breast cancer six years earlier than relatives of the previous generation who also had the disease and/or ovarian cancer, according to new research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Cancer Predisposition From Gene Variant Shows Strong Gender Bias
Cancer predisposition resulting from the presence of a specific gene variant shows a strong gender bias, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have demonstrated.
Medications Effective in Reducing Risks for Breast Cancer Can Also Cause Serious Side Effects
Three drugs that reduce a woman's chance of getting breast cancer also have been shown to cause adverse effects, according to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Scientists from University of Hawaii at Manoa find genetic marker
A new genetic marker associated with ovarian cancer risk was recently discovered by an international research group, led by scientists from the Cancer Research Genetic Epidemiology Unit in the United Kingdom.
New treatment in sight for ovarian cancer
In the future, women with metastatic ovarian cancer could be treated with a radioactive substance that can seek and destroy tumour cells.
Young early stage ovarian cancer patients can preserve fertility
A new study finds that young women with early-stage ovarian cancer can preserve future fertility by keeping at least one ovary or the uterus without increasing the risk of dying from the disease.
Estrogen-Dependent Switch Tempers Killing Activity of Immune Cells
The sex hormone estrogen tempers the killing activity of a specific group of immune cells, the cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), which are known to attack tumor cells and cells infected by viruses.
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