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Most patients with ovarian cancer require systemic therapy upfront and again on recurrence. Treatment advances over the past decade have been few, but bevacizumab prolongs disease remission, if not survival. Other targeted agents have not been effective, but emerging data for experimental agents suggest this outlook may change. In her presentation at the NCCN 18th Annual Conference, Dr. Deborah K. Armstrong reviewed findings supporting intraperitoneal chemotherapy, the use of bevacizumab, the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the potential of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and other newer agents.

In the latest NCCN Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer, the histologic subtypes of ovarian cancer are described in more depth as they vary by frequency, typical age and disease stage at presentation, treatment recommendations, and survival probabilities. The less common subtypes are also discussed. The update with the greatest impact on the treatment of ovarian cancer, however, is probably the use of maintenance therapy with poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, and 3 PARP inhibitors are now included in the guidelines. These drugs have made a large difference in outcome, both for patients with BRCA mutations and in unselected patients.

PARP inhibitors have been used to treat numerous diseases, but these agents have been approved the longest for use in ovarian cancer. All trials of PARP inhibitor maintenance in newly diagnosed ovarian cancer are positive for prolonged progression-free survival (PFS), but patients with BRCA mutations consistently derive the most benefit. Testing for homologous recombination deficiency may provide information regarding the degree of PFS benefit. In individuals without a BRCA mutation, PARP inhibition also prolongs PFS after chemotherapy for platinum-sensitive, PARP-naïve disease. As in the up-front setting, patients with BRCA mutations derive the most benefit in these trials. Finally, PARP inhibitors are active as monotherapy in PARP-naïve, BRCA-mutated relapsed disease, with increased activity observed in platinum-sensitive versus platinum-resistant disease.

This selection from the NCCN Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer focuses on the less common ovarian histopathologies (LCOHs), because new algorithms were added for LCOHs and current algorithms were revised for the 2016 update. The new LCOHs algorithms include clear cell carcinomas, mucinous carcinomas, and grade 1 (low-grade) serous carcinomas/endometrioid epithelial carcinomas. The LCOHs also include carcinosarcomas (malignant mixed Müllerian tumors of the ovary), borderline epithelial tumors (also known as low malignant potential tumors), malignant sex cord-stromal tumors, and malignant germ cell tumors.

These NCCN Guidelines Insights focus on the major updates to the 2013 NCCN Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer. Four updates were selected based on recent important updates in the guidelines and on debate among panel members about recent clinical trials. The topics include 1) intraperitoneal chemotherapy, 2) CA-125 monitoring for ovarian cancer recurrence, 3) surveillance recommendations for less common ovarian histopathologies, and 4) recent changes in therapy for recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. These NCCN Guidelines Insights also discuss why some recommendations were not made.

These NCCN Guidelines Insights focus on the major updates for the 2012 NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Ovarian Cancer by describing how and why the new recommendations were made. The 6 update topics were selected based on recent important updates in the guidelines and on debate among panel members about recent clinical trials, and include: 1) screening, 2) diagnostic tests for assessing pelvic masses, 3) primary treatment using neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 4) primary adjuvant treatment using bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy, 5) therapy for recurrent disease, and 6) management of drug/hypersensitivity reactions. These NCCN Guidelines Insights also discuss why some recommendations were not made (eg, panel members did not feel the new data warranted changing the guideline). See “Updates” in the NCCN Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer for a complete list of all the recent revisions.

Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancer in the United States, with less than half of patients living >5 years following diagnosis. The NCCN Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer provide recommendations for the diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up for patients with ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize the panel discussion behind recent important updates to the guidelines, including revised guidance on alternative chemotherapy regimens for patients with advanced age and/or comorbidities, a new algorithm for recurrent low-grade serous carcinoma based on developing research and novel therapeutic agents, and updated language regarding tumor molecular analysis applications in ovarian cancer.

Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancer in the United States, with less than half of patients living >5 years from diagnosis. A major challenge in treating ovarian cancer is that most patients have advanced disease at initial diagnosis. The best outcomes are observed in patients whose primary treatment includes complete resection of all visible disease plus combination platinum-based chemotherapy. Research efforts are focused on primary neoadjuvant treatments that may improve resectability, as well as systemic therapies providing improved long-term survival. These NCCN Guidelines Insights focus on recent updates to neoadjuvant chemotherapy recommendations, including the addition of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, and the role of PARP inhibitors and bevacizumab as maintenance therapy options in select patients who have completed primary chemotherapy.