Dr. O'Malley on Research With Immunotherapy in 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 the current state of immunotherapy in ovarian cancer.

Research efforts in ovarian cancer are currently focused on determining which patient populations will benefit from immunotherapy, says O’Malley. The frontline setting is likely the best opportunity to investigate immunotherapy, adds O’Malley. Investigators are also combining immunotherapy agents with different agents, such as PARP inhibitors or with endovascular therapy. Other efforts are focusing on whether immunotherapy should be combined with both approaches, says O’Malley.

The challenge with combination therapies is the overlapping toxicities. More research is needed to determine which patients will benefit from 1 drug versus those who will need to receive all drugs at once, according to O’Malley. To date, data with single-agent immunotherapy have not been promising in ovarian cancer; however, ongoing studies investigating immunotherapy in the up-front setting might yield more promising results, according to O’Malley. These efforts will help identify patients who will benefit from this approach, concludes O’Malley.