Gynecologic Cancer

Today is my birthday, and while I’ve had some unforeseen changes in my cancer treatment lately, I’m grateful to still be here to celebrate.

AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of the drug, announced that treatment with Imfinzi plus chemoradiotherapy did not improve survival compared with standard-of-care chemoradiotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.

There were no major differences in survival when comparing intravenous and intraperitoneal chemotherapy plus Avastin in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, research shows.

“These results position mirvetuximab soravtansine to become a practice-changing, biomarker-driven, standard-of-care treatment option for patients with (high folate receptor-alpha)-positive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer,” noted one of the study authors.

Zejula plus Avastin led to promising progression-free survival rates with no new side effects for patients with newly diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer.

The FDA’s approval of Keytruda is indicated for patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma with specific genetic characteristics whose disease progressed after systemic therapy and are not suitable for surgery or radiation.

The vaccine, which protects patients from seven different strains related to HPV-related cancers, may be considered part of routine oncology care for survivors.

The FDA approved Keytruda for use with chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab, for the treatment of a subset of patients with cervical cancer.

Side effects from early-onset menopause from medical treatments may be mitigated with hormone replacement therapy.

Tivdak is a targeted therapy that showed promising results for patients with pretreated metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer.

Transvaginal ultrasonography may inaccurately measure uterine lining in Black women, highlighting the potential to assess its use on a case-by-case basis.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Keytruda plus Lenvima for patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma whose disease had progressed after previous systemic therapy and are not candidates for surgery or radiation.

Jemperli (dostarlimab) received accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer whose disease has progressed on, or following, prior treatment with a platinum-containing chemotherapy and whose cancers have a specific genetic biomarker known as deficient mismatch repair.

As more is learned about the biology of endometrial cancer, new treatment possibilities emerge.

In honor of International Women’s Day, CURE® compiled some recent news and updates in women’s cancers that patients, survivors and caregivers may have missed.

Women who underwent radiation after cancer surgery had improved distant metastases-free survival rates, although this benefit was not evident in overall survival.