RECENT PROGRESS IN OVARIAN CANCER THERAPY

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC) represents the leading cause of gynecological cancer deaths in women. It has a high variety of histological origins, molecular pathways and genetic mutations (BRCA1 and BRCA2 somatic/germinal mutations, Lynch genes, RADS1C, RADS1D etc.) that play a key role in treatment response and prognosis (for example, clear cell carcinoma is less responsive to standard therapy). An important percentage of patients (80%) are diagnosed with metastatic disease, due to the lack of specific symptomatology and screening techniques leading to a dismal evolution. Standard treatment did not change drastically in decades consisting, nowadays, of cytoreductive surgery (debulking) and chemotherapy (a platinum-based agent, usually carboplatin and a taxane). Most patients experience complete response, but within a period of time, relapses occur and the cancerous cells may become platinum-resistant. This article depicts key clinical trials for many pharmacological agents including anti-angiogenesis drugs (bevacizumab, aflibercept, trebananib, pazopanib, sorafenib etc.), PARP-inhibitors (olaparib, niraparib), DNMT inhibitors (decitabine, azacytidine), various TKIs, DNA vaccines, oncolytic virus therapies and other agents.