title: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A New Opportunity in the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer?
abstract: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the leading cause of death for gynecological cancer. The standard treatment for advanced stage is the combination of optimal debulking surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy. Nevertheless, recurrence is frequent (around 70%) and prognosis is globally poor. New therapeutic agents are needed to improve survival. Since EOC is strongly immunogenic, immune checkpoint inhibitors are under evaluation for their capacity to contrast the "turn off" signals expressed by the tumor to escape the immune system and usually responsible for self-tolerance maintenance. This article reviews the literature on anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, and anti-PD-L2 antibodies in EOC and highlights their possible lines of development. Further studies are needed to better define the prognostic role of the immune checkpoint inhibitors, to identify predictors of response and the optimal clinical setting in EOC.
authors.affiliation: Candiolo Cancer Institute-FPO-IRCCS, Candiolo, Turin 10060, Italy. gloria.mittica@ircc.it.|Department of Oncology, University of Torino, Turin 10060, Italy. gloria.mittica@ircc.it.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mittica
authors.affiliation: Candiolo Cancer Institute-FPO-IRCCS, Candiolo, Turin 10060, Italy. sofia.genta@ircc.it.|Department of Oncology, University of Torino, Turin 10060, Italy. sofia.genta@ircc.it.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Genta
authors.affiliation: Candiolo Cancer Institute-FPO-IRCCS, Candiolo, Turin 10060, Italy. massimo.aglietta@ircc.it.|Department of Oncology, University of Torino, Turin 10060, Italy. massimo.aglietta@ircc.it.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aglietta
authors.affiliation: Candiolo Cancer Institute-FPO-IRCCS, Candiolo, Turin 10060, Italy. giorgio.valabrega@ircc.it.|Department of Oncology, University of Torino, Turin 10060, Italy. giorgio.valabrega@ircc.it.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valabrega
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4); immune checkpoint inhibitor; ipilimumab; nivolumab; ovarian cancer; pembrolizumab; programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1); programmed cell death-1 (PD-1); tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)