Abstract
Simple SummaryThe overall five-year survival rate in epithelial ovarian cancer is 44% and has only marginally improved in the past two decades. Despite an initial response to standard treatment consisting of chemotherapy and surgical removal of tumor, the lesions invariably recur, and patients ultimately die of chemotherapy resistant disease. New treatment modalities are needed in order to improve the prognosis of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. One such modality is immunotherapy, which aims to boost the capacity of the patient’s immune system to recognize and attack the tumor cells. We performed a retrospective study to identify some of the most promising immune therapies for epithelial ovarian cancer. Special emphasis was given to immuno-oncology clinical trials.New treatment modalities are needed in order to improve the prognosis of women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), the most aggressive gynecologic cancer type. Most ovarian tumors are infiltrated by immune effector cells, providing the rationale for targeted approaches that boost the existing or trigger new anti-tumor immune mechanisms. The field of immuno-oncology has experienced remarkable progress in recent years, although the results seen with single agent immunotherapies in several categories of solid tumors have yet to extend to ovarian cancer. The challenge remains to determine what treatment combinations are most suitable for this disease and which patients are likely to benefit and to identify how immunotherapy should be incorporated into EOC standard of care. We review here some of the most promising immune therapies for EOC and focus on those currently tested in clinical trials.
Highlights
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), the most common form of ovarian cancer, is the deadliest gynecologic cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women, with estimated 22,530 new cases and 13,980 deaths in 2019 [1]
This study examined whether avelumab given alone or in combination with pegylated doxorubicin (PLD) is superior to PLD alone in prolonging overall survival in patients with platinum-resistant/platinum-refractory ovarian cancer
By using tumor tissue profiling with single cell imaging resolution capability, this study suggests that spatial interactions between tumor cells and various immune cell subsets with different functional states may serve as biomarkers of response to immunotherapy, and that incorporation of advanced multiplexed imaging may greatly impact biomarker discovery for immuno-oncology and provide new modalities for patient stratification [73]
Summary
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), the most common form of ovarian cancer, is the deadliest gynecologic cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women, with estimated 22,530 new cases and 13,980 deaths in 2019 [1]. New treatment modalities are needed in order to improve the prognosis of women patients with EOC. As we better understand the immune profile of the tumor microenvironment, approval for varying indications in the treatment of EOC [7]. The field of immunoin recent years, primarily due to therapeutic advancements in melanoma, urothelial and oncology has experienced remarkable progress in recentseen years, primarily lung, due to therapeutic head and neck seen cancers. Despite limited clinical benefit achieved in EOC early trials, there is clinical reason advancements in melanoma, lung, urothelial and head and neck cancers. Despite limited to believe that the promising results seen with immunotherapies in other cancers will extend to benefit achieved in EOC early trials, there is reason to believe that the promising results seen with [9].
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