title: Emerging therapeutics for primary peritoneal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Primary peritoneal cancer describes a malignancy that originates from the peritoneal lining of the abdomen. The diagnosis is clearest when the ovaries are uninvolved; however, this is rarely the case and, as such, the declaration is often made pathologically by extrinsic or secondary involvement of the ovaries. The disease shares nearly all of the clinicopathologic features of primary ovarian cancer, most importantly, a molecular homology, which has made it unfruitful for considering it a different entity. Because of this, both standard of care treatment algorithms and contemporary drug development protocols nearly uniformly consider these cancers as primary ovarian cancers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A Medline search was performed as well as a review of trials presented in the National Cancer Institute clinical trials website (http://www.Clinicaltrials.gov). We also reviewed abstracts presented at recent oncology congresses, such as the 2010 Annual meetings of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The purpose of this review is to highlight areas of current drug development for patients with primary peritoneal carcinoma. While there are numerous investigational agents being evaluated which follow patients with this disease, our review focuses on the most promising agents that are in mature clinical development. In addition, given the recent positive Phase III data of bevacizumab in the first-line setting for patients with this disease, we consider changes that we can anticipate in this field.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Numerous novel agents are being explored in this disease with the majority focusing on direct and indirect perturbations of tumor angiogenesis. Based on ongoing and recently completed investigations, targeted therapies are likely to become part of the armamentarium of first-line and recurrent treatment for patients with peritoneal cancers. Future studies of pathway-specific targeting will probably include pretreatment biomarker selection or eligibility criteria as well as combinatorial strategies.
authors.affiliation: Morristown Cancer Center, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Morristown, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Slomovitz
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Worley
authors.forename: Maurie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markman
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Coleman
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents