Two-Drug combination strong results In Late stage ovarian cancer phase II study

Researchers were surprised that late stage ovarian cancer patients adequately responded to an experimental carboplatin-decitabine combination therapy, given that they had become resistant to carboplatin. Indiana University researchers are excited to a larger human research for testing of the combination of the two-drug with existing treatment for ovarian cancer.

The combo carboplatin-decitabine had a positive impact on 70% of trial participants. The researchers added that they believe they have discovered biomarkers that could help better identify patients who are likely to respond to this therapy.

Kenneth cousin, the brain cancer researcher in the IU Medical Sciences program-Bloomington and at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, said:

"The potential that this regime is effective, decitabine to combine with the carboplatin therapy, is very exciting. It is well tolerated and didn't have any dose-limiting toxicities. We can enroll patients with confidence because of these results. "

Ovarian cancer is the fifth largest cause of cancer death among women in the u.s., the researchers explained. They added that it is an aggressive and incurable cancer. Although carboplatin is seen as the most effective drug treatment, patients with recurrent ovarian cancer often become resistant to the medication after a few rounds of treatment. When resistance builds, they usually do not survive for more than a year because there is not an effective treatments of the second line around.

All 17 women involved in the clinical trial were resistant to carboplatin and promoting their cancer was. 12 of them saw their tumor growth significantly slow down or stop completely after treatment with the experimental combo. In fact, said cousin that the tumor was undetectable in one of the women. He added that the progression of cancer after approximately 336 days resumed.

Lead researcher Daniela Matei, M.D., who has the treatment of ovarian cancer patients for ten years and has carried out several human studies, was surprised by the high degree of positive effects. The number of women who remained in remission for at least six months was surprising, she added.

Matei said:

"Usually in this group of patients would you anticipate calculation of responsrates of less than 5% and no patients would be expected to be in remission at six months," said Matei, a physician-scientist at the IU Simon Cancer Center. "In our process, more than half (nine women) of the patients without progression to six months."

This research was funded by the NIH (National Institutes of Health), National Cancer Institute, Walther Cancer Foundation and the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.

It is estimated that approximately 200,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year worldwide, and 125,000 women die from the disease. Approximately 22,000 new diagnoses of ovarian cancer exist in the United States, where about 15,500 die each year. Unfortunately, there is no really effective method for detecting cancer early on.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
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Article reference:
Source: Indiana University School of Medicine