title: Targeted therapy in ovarian cancer.
abstract: Among female-specific cancers worldwide, ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancy in the western world. Despite radical surgery and initial high response rates to first-line chemotherapy, up to 70% of patients experience relapses with a median progression-free survival of 12-18 months. There remains an urgent need for novel targeted therapies to improve clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer. This review aims to assess current understanding of targeted therapy in ovarian cancer and evaluate the evidence for targeting growth-dependent mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis. Of the many targeted therapies currently under evaluation, the most promising strategies developed thus far are antiangiogenic agents and PARP inhibitors.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Hui Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: School of Women's & Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2031, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ledger
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: PARP inhibitors; VEGF inhibitors; combination therapy; ovarian cancer; targeted therapy