(October 7, 2019) Published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, a group of investigators led by OCRA Scientific Advisory Committee member Dr. Robert Coleman found an innovative combination therapy to significantly increase progression-free survival (PFS). In this phase III clinical trial, patients with previously untreated advanced-stage ovarian cancer received veliparib administered simultaneously with chemotherapy and continued this same drug as a maintenance therapy. This combination was also found to be generally well-tolerated by patients, with no unexpected toxicities.
“The patient population enrolled in the clinical trial were reflective of those we see in clinic every day as it allowed for both stage III and stage IV patients and those getting primary surgery or those undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery,” said Dr. Coleman. “These results are encouraging, and apply for a majority of newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients.”
More information can be found on the MD Anderson Cancer Center website. The study findings can be read through a subscription to the New England Journal of Medicine.
