Combo Promising for Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer had a twofold increase in progression-free survival (PFS) when treated with an investigational folate conjugate, a phase II randomized trial showed.

Median PFS increased from 2.7 months with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) to 5.0 months when vintafolide was added to PLD.

The between-group difference increased to 4 months in the subgroup of patients whose lesions had imaging-confirmed folate-receptor expression.

Overall survival did not differ between the groups, due in part to an unusually prolonged survival in the control arm, R. Wendel Naumann, MD, said here at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting.

"This is the first clinical trial that has shown a benefit in progression-free survival over standardized therapy in a randomized trial in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, and we think it's pretty exciting," said Naumann, of Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.

"We know that EC20 scanning identifies patients who will benefit most from the combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and vintafolide, as well as those who will not benefit. It appears that patients in whom all lesions are folate-receptor positive benefit the most from this combination."

Two-Drug Combination Fights Resistant Ovarian Cancer Cells Ovarian cancer is one of the most common malignancies among women all over the globe. Various studies have been initiated to explore options with regard to effective treatments for this pathology. In a recent research published online in Gynecologic Oncology, two drugs never previously used together were said to kill 70% of ovarian cancer cells resistant to usual chemotherapeutic agents. The Lead Author Dr. Prakash Vishnu, of the May Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and her team have high hopes that the combo of ixabepilone and sunitinib will become effective medical intervention for patients with this cancer.

According to Dr. Gerardo Colon-Otero, a hematologist-oncologist and co-author, the combination of chemotherapy compounds is crucial in saving lives, since the late stage of ovarian cancer becomes fatal due to its resistance to commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs. Furthermore, the “proof of principle” study revealed that RhoB, a cellular protein that is activated by the 2-drug combo, has a vital role in ovarian cancer. RhoB serves as a molecular switch that gives signals in cellular processes like gene expression, cell proliferation and cell suicide (apoptosis).

In addition, Dr. John Coplan, a senior author and cancer biologist, said that RhoB is a key modulator in aiding drugs to fight other kinds of tumor, although this is the first time for it to be linked to ovarian cancer. He added that RhoB becomes elevated and cell death occurs with this new drug combination. Moreover, he believed that this protein may be a possible marker that can assist in determining which ovarian cancer patients benefit from this chemotherapeutic combination.