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Back to Oncology Articles
Sunday 26th March, 2006
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"This trial is among the first to combine a biologic agent with
a conventional chemotherapy agent for ovarian cancer." |
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In a study released today at the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists 37th
Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer, researchers found the addition of
thalidomide to topotecan for the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer
significantly increases the response to therapy and the duration of
progression free survival without additional toxicity.
The study, "A Prospective Randomized Trial of Thalidomide with
Topotecan Compared to Topotecan Alone in Women with Recurrent Epithelial
Ovarian, Primary Peritoneal or Fallopian Tube Carcinoma," was led by
Levi S. Downs Jr., M.D., University of Minnesota Medical School and
Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN.
"This trial is among the first to combine a biologic agent
with a conventional chemotherapy agent for the treatment of ovarian
cancer," said the study's lead author, Dr. Levi S. Downs, Jr. "The
statistically significant improvement in overall response rate
demonstrated in this experimental treatment is promising as we continue
to seek better therapies to fight ovarian cancer."
Thalidomide is a biologic therapy that may fight tumors in two ways:
First by inhibiting the tumors ability to generate new blood vessels to
feed a growing mass of cells and second by boosting the immune response
to the abnormal tumor cells. Biologic therapies are intended to work
with the body's natural defenses to help fight tumor cells without
harming healthy cells; these therapies hold promise for effectiveness
without the extreme toxicities seen in conventional chemotherapy.
This randomized trial involved women from seven different research
sites (although a majority were from one institution) who had recurrent
or persistent epithelial ovarian carcinoma. The final analysis included
39 women in the topotecan/control arm and 30 women in the
thalidomide/topotecan arm. The women in the thalidomide/topotecan arm:
- Had a 47 percent overall response rate compared to 21 percent in
the control arm; and
- Had a two month improvement in disease free survival compared to
the control arm.
While there was a trend toward an improvement in overall survival (19
months compared to 15 months in the control arm) the results were not
statistically significant in this trial.
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"The results of this study suggest that new molecules under development
that act as immune modulators and anti-angiogenic agents, like
thalidomide, should be studied in women with ovarian cancer in
combination with traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy," said Dr. Downs.
"While the development of new chemotherapy options has improved survival
for women diagnosed with this disease, there is clearly a need for new,
effective chemotherapy options."
According to the American Cancer Society ovarian cancer is the
leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancy and the fifth most
common cause of cancer death in women in the United States.
Source
Society of Gynecologic Oncologists 37th Annual Meeting on Women's
Cancer.
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