Dr. Corr on the Rationale to Evaluate WNT Inhibition in Gynecologic Cancers

Bradley Corr, MD, assistant professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Gynecologic Oncology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, discusses the rationale to evaluate WNT pathway inhibition in gynecologic cancers.

Targeting the WNT pathway has been an area of ongoing research in breast, colon, and gynecologic cancers for many years, explains Corr. Now, pharmaceutical companies have taken an interest in developing WNT pathway–targeted agents, which has led to a growing body of knowledge in gynecologic cancers, explains Corr.

Specifically, copy number–low endometrial cancers that harbor CTNNB1 mutations appear to have direct clinical significance with WNT inhibition, explains Corr.* Conversely, in ovarian cancer, mutational status does not seem to inform whether patients would be candidates for WNT targeted therapy, Corr says. However, crosstalk within the WNT pathway does exist in ovarian cancer, so it remains an area of active research.

Notably, targeting the WNT pathway with single-agent or combination regimens may provide an option for patients who develop resistance to PARP inhibitors in ovarian and endometrial cancers, concludes Corr.