A recent study investigated the efficacy of volasertib, a selective cell-cycle kinase inhibitor, versus a single-agent chemotherapy for the treatment of platinum-resistant or -refractory ovarian cancer. A 24-week disease control point was the primary end point, and secondary end points included quality of life and progression-free survival.¹

The 109 patients involved in the study received a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and had experienced failure after treatment with 2 or 3 therapy lines. After random assignment for treatment type, 55 patients received chemotherapy (single-agent, nonplatinum, cytotoxic chemotherapy) and 54 patients received volasertib (300 mg; via IV infusion at 3-week intervals).

The 24-week disease control rates were measured at 43.1% for chemotherapy and 30.6% for volasertib. Median progression-free survival was 20.6 weeks for chemotherapy and 13.1 weeks for volasertib therapy. Eleven percent of patients treated with volasertib achieved progression-free survival for more than 1 year, whereas no patients treated with a single-agent chemotherapy exceeded a year. Volasertib therapy showed a greater number of grades 3 and 4 drug-related hematologic adverse events compared with chemotherapy, but a lower number of nonhematologic adverse events.

The researchers concluded that single-agent volasertib demonstrated antitumor activity for ovarian cancer. Study results were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

REFERENCE

Volasertib Demonstrates Antitumor Activity in Patients With Ovarian Cancer

Want to read more?

Want to read more?