Expert Discusses Treatment Advances During Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Despite having a high likelihood of recurrence, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer now has a beneficial treatment option with Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), an antibody-drug conjugate recently validated in the phase 3 MIRASOL trial, according to Dr. Ryan Kahn.

Elahere was approved by the FDA in March of 2024 based on improved progression-free survival data in women who had received prior treatment for their disease. This marks the first major advancement for this population in decades, Kahn continued, saying that this is now the current standard of care for patients with this disease.

Kahn, a gynecologic oncologist at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health Cancer Care, sat down for an interview with CURE to delve deeper into this topic during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Transcript

What advancements in ovarian cancer research or treatment do you have your eye on moving forward?

One very exciting thing that just came out in recent years is a new drug called Elahere from the MIRASOL trial. Most ovarian cancers are very sensitive and respond well to chemotherapy. In certain situations, unfortunately, they do come back over time, and oftentimes when ovarian cancer does come back, it becomes more resistant and less sensitive to forms of chemotherapy.

For years, we haven't really had great options for this patient population.

Fortunately, with the MIRASOL trial, it was a phase 3 trial that looked at a drug called Elahere, which is an antibody-drug conjugate. It looked at women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who had received one to three prior [rounds] of chemotherapy and found that Elahere in this population not only had a very high objective response rate of over 40% but also improved their progression-free survival.

This was a groundbreaking study that is now a standard of care in certain types of recurrent ovarian cancers, and it's great because it gives us an option for women who didn't have effective options for decades. I think this is now opening the door for newer medications and newer therapies which could be effective for these women.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

References

1. Elahere Gets Full FDA Approval for Pretreated Gynecologic Cancer, by Brielle Benyon. News, March 22, 2024. https://www.curetoday.com/view/elahere-gets-full-fda-approval-for-pretreated-gynecologic-cancer

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