Targeted therapy for epithelial ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death in women with gynecological malignancies and overall survival for patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains poor. The majority of patients recur after initial treatment. A strategy for improving outcome is to minimise recurrence via targeted therapy in patients after front-line therapy, or more appropriately as consolidation therapy. EOC represents an attractive target because of the biology of the disease and that the bulk of disease occurs in the peritoneal cavity. To initiate targeted therapy, a candidate target must be identified. Innovative approaches via targeted therapy to control metastatic residual EOC are currently under investigation. The targets are molecules and pathways, on which cancer cells depend to proliferate, invade, metastasise and prevent apoptosis. Potential targeted therapies include: proapoptototic therapy, suicide gene therapy, signal transduction, antiangiogenesis, immunotherapy and cytokine therapy. The utilisation of these targets in the clinic demands carefully conducted, well-coordinated but discovery-oriented translational research in the form of clinical trials that can quickly assess alternative strategies or combination of strategies that could result in clinical benefit. Therefore, targeted therapy for epithelial ovarian cancer, especially after complete response to standard regimens, represents a paradigm whose time has come to be nurtured.
Sharma
Sameer
S
Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA.
Odunsi
Kunle
K
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D013379:Substrate Specificity
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents