Dr. O'Malley on Antitumor Activity With Veliparib Combo in Serous Ovarian Cancer

David O'Malley, MD, professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—The James, discusses antitumor activity with veliparib in combination with chemotherapy in patients with high grade serous ovarian cancer.

The phase 3 VELIA trial enrolled patients with newly diagnosed high grade serous ovarian cancer and treated them with veliparib in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel with and without veliparib maintenance. Results showed that veliparib combination arm experienced a numerically higher response rate, particularly in those with complete responses (CRs), says O'Malley. Specifically, an 81% overall response rate (ORR), as defined by RECIST v1.1, was reported in the veliparib combination arm versus 74% in the control arm; the CRs were 24% versus 18%, respectively.

In exploratory analyses, investigators evaluated responses during the combination phase of the trial, as assessed by CA-125 levels, which were defined as ≥90% decrease from baseline or RECIST v1.1 criteria. At baseline, the distribution of CA-125 levels was similar across each in both arms. Interestingly, investigators saw the CA-125 decrease sooner when veliparib was combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy, says O'Malley. In those patients who underwent interval tumor reductive surgery, 51% of patients in the veliparib combination arm had a CA-125 response versus 37% in the control arm, concludes O'Malley.