Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors in patients with ovarian cancer: Still promising?

Abstract

Despite advances in surgery and chemotherapy and the integration of antivascular endothelial growth factor therapy as well as poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase inhibitors into daily clinical practice, epithelial ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer. The incorporation of new therapies with the potential to achieve long-term disease remission is a clear need for patients with ovarian cancer. Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) (antiprogrammed cell death protein 1 [anti-PD-1] or antiprogrammed death-ligand 1 [anti-PD-L1]) has been adopted in several malignancies based on improvements shown with regard to progression-free survival and in particular overall survival. Although there is a solid rationale for the use of CPIs in patients with ovarian cancer, to our knowledge the clinical data presented to date are not very convincing. This article reviews the current data regarding CPIs in patients with ovarian cancer along with the future directions and designs of clinical trials aiming to overcome the low efficacy of CPIs in these individuals.

Keywords: antiprogrammed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1); antiprogrammed death-ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1); checkpoint inhibitor; immunotherapy; immunotherapy combinations; ovarian cancer.