Abstract

Antiangiogenic therapies in ovarian cancer

Author(s): Carol Townsley and Amit Oza

Standard palliative options in the context of platinum-resistant metastatic disease, such as ovarian cancer, include a variety of single-agent chemotherapy drugs all of which afford objective response rates of approximately 10–20% and median overall survival of only approximately 4–8 months. More recently, molecular-targeted approaches have been explored in this disease, with bevacizumab being the most extensively studied and promising candidate. Bevacizumab and other VEGF-targeted agents have demonstrated activity in ovarian cancer, both as a single agent and in combination. Toxicities observed with this class of agent have included hypertension, proteinuria, thromboembolic events, impaired wound healing, neurologic complications and gastrointestinal perforation. However, overall this class of drugs is well tolerated and represents a novel therapeutic choice for clinicians.