Dr. Dorigo on Immunotherapy in Ovarian Cancer

Oliver Dorigo, MD, PhD, associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford Medicine, discusses the use of immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

Early trials have shown that tumor infiltrating lymphocytes that are extracted from a patient's tumor, expanded in cell culture in the laboratory, and then reinfused into the patient can induce significant antitumor activity, explains Dorigo. However, responses with single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitors have been modest, ranging from 10% to 15%. Though patients are benefitting from these agents, researchers are modifying the therapy so that T cells are better able to target the cancer cells.

Another strategy is combination approaches, says Dorigo. Promising early efficacy has been shown by combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with PARP inhibitors. Though PARP seems to show the biggest impact in patients with BRCA mutations, responses have also been observed in patients without BRCA mutations, states Dorigo.