Future of Ovarian and Cervical Cancers

Among cancers without an available targeted therapy, cervical cancer once had the highest cancer-related mortality rates, says Bradley J. Monk, MD. Survival is now improving, as a result of continued advances in the treatment of patients. Continued advancement is critical in ovarian and cervical cancer to continue to improve survival. Moreover, once developed, it is important to focus on integrating these agents into the standard of care, states Robert L. Coleman, MD.

Inhibitors of PD-L1 and PARP may have a role in future treatment strategies for patients with ovarian cancer, says Thomas Herzog, MD. The first PARP inhibitor, olaparib, was approved for patients with BRCA-positive ovarian cancer in December 2014. Additionally, early phase studies presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting showed promising response rates for PD-L1 and PD-1-targeted agents.

These agents represent an ever-growing role for precision medicine in gynecologic malignancies. Biomarkers will help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from these agents and improve survival, notes Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD.