Dr. Herzog on Impact of Recent Clinical Trials in Ovarian Cancer

Thomas Herzog, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, deputy director, University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute, discusses the impact of recent clinical trials in ovarian cancer.

Herzog says physicians owe all the progress observed in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer to clinical trials. More than a decade ago, clinical trial data led to the adoption of paclitaxel-based chemotherapy into treatment, which has significantly improved outcomes. Phase III trials have also made a difference in allowing gynecologic oncologists to take a cumbersome inpatient regimen and turn it into a convenient outpatient regimen with the addition of carboplatin. Paclitaxel infusion time has also been adjusted from 24 hours to 3 hours.

Herzog adds that the GOG-178 trial showed an improvement of progression-free survival with maintenance therapy after paclitaxel-based chemotherapy for patients with advanced disease. Studies of dose-dense regimens are ongoing to see if patients can receive more therapy over a shorter period of time.