Repurposed Drug Extends Ovarian Cancer Survival
Why it matters: New drug options could extend the lives of thousands of women diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer each year.
- Relacorilant, a drug previously used for Cushing’s syndrome, reduced the risk of death by 35% and extended survival by an average of four months in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a Lancet-published study of 381 patients.
- Pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, extended survival by an average of 3.7 months when administered alongside usual care in a separate study involving 643 platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients.
- Both relacorilant and pembrolizumab are currently in Phase 3 trials and require further testing for UK approval, though they have already received FDA approval in the US for treating platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
- Platinum-resistant ovarian cancer typically leads to an average survival of only one year after diagnosis, affecting approximately 7,600 women in the UK annually.
Two separate Phase 3 clinical trials offer new hope for patients with aggressive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, a form of the disease with limited treatment options and a grim prognosis. Relacorilant, a repurposed drug, significantly extended survival by four months, while immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab also showed promising results, extending life by 3.7 months when combined with usual care.
