Dr. Secord on Treating Patients with Platinum Sensitive Ovarian Cancer

Angeles A. Secord, MD, gynecologic oncologist, Duke Cancer Center, discusses treating patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Often, patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer do not want to restart chemotherapy, so other therapeutic options are needed, Secord says. The integration of PARP inhibitors into the treatment paradigm has called a need to evaluate patients regarding what frontline treatments they received to determine if they are eligible for a PARP inhibitor, Secord says. 

Moreover, patients are evaluated in terms of their biomarkers, including whether they harbor BRCA1/2 mutations or if their tumor is characterized by homologous recombination deficiency or proficiency, also known as genomic instability, Secord explains.

Overall, if a patient has not received a PARP inhibitor in the frontline setting and they harbor BRCA1/2 mutations or genomic instability within their tumor, they should be considered for PARP inhibitor therapy. Additionally, the use of bevacizumab (Avastin) as a therapeutic option in the maintenance setting, as well as with concurrent chemotherapy, should also be discussed with the patient, Secord concludes.