Open AccessFirst-line treatment of advanced ovarian cancer: an expert update
Author(s) -
Branka Petrić-Miše
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
libri oncologici
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.189
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 2584-3826
pISSN - 0300-8142
DOI - 10.20471/lo.2020.48.02-03.14
Subject(s) - medicine , taxane , oncology , carboplatin , ovarian cancer , bevacizumab , chemotherapy , debulking , docetaxel , paclitaxel , first line treatment , cancer , breast cancer , cisplatin
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of death among malignant diseases in women in Europe. The standard treatment is cytoreductive surgery, followed by platinum-taxane based chemotherapy. In patients with advanced disease, a valid option is a neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery. Despite the progress in primary treatment, almost 70% of the patients relapse. There is a significant need for better first-line treatment to avoid or delay relapse and improve ovarian cancer outcomes. The most significant change involves the changes in the treatment schedule and new drugs in first-line chemotherapy. Bevacizumab is approved in first-line treatment combined with carboplatin and paclitaxel as it improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with a higher risk of recurrence. After achieving the response to first-line chemotherapy, maintenance therapy with poly-adenosine-diphosphate-ribose-polymerase (PARP) inhibitors prolongs PFS in patients with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). Patients with BRCA mutations obtain the most significant benefit.