Highlights on Ovarian Cancer (SGO)

Prof Jean-François Baurain, professor of medical oncology at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc UC Louvain, provides insights from the SGO meeting in San Diego, focusing on advancements in the treatment landscape for ovarian cancer.

The PAOLA trial underscores the potential of PARPi in improving outcomes for patients with ovarian cancer, with approximately a quarter of patients potentially achieving cure with this addition to standard treatment regimens. A highlight of the SGO meeting was the presentation of the Duo-O trial, evaluating the efficacy of durvalumab in combination with carboplatin/paclitaxel and bevacizumab, with or without Olaparib. The addition of olaparib demonstrated promising results, particularly in patients with homologous recombination deficiency, showing a notable improvement in progression-free survival.

While the efficacy of immunotherapy in ovarian cancer remains uncertain, negative trial results from the TTfield trial and ADC targeting NaPi2 were reported. However, there has been a notable revolution in the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) with the introduction of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting alpha folate receptors (mirvetuximab soravtansine) and HER2 (trastuzumab-deruxtecan), which have shown significant response rates and increased progression-free survival.

A major breakthrough was reported in the first-in-human trial of Raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd), a new ADC targeting cadherin-6. The trial demonstrated a remarkable response rate and disease control rate in highly pretreated patients. Exciting results from this trial warrant further investigation through randomised clinical trials to establish its efficacy compared to traditional chemotherapy.