Immune checkpoint inhibitors in ovarian cancer: where do we stand?
When a new treatment for cancer is found, women with lethal ovarian cancer often have their hopes raised. Checkpoint inhibition is one of these new forms of treatment. First used in the management of melanoma, Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has radically changed the outcomes for many melanoma and lung cancer patients by “curing the incurable”.
Unfortunately despite multiple trials of Keytruda and similar formulations, both alone and in combination, no benefit in terms of improved survival for ovarian cancer has been shown. This review looks at how checkpoint inhibition works and what the prospects are.
All cells die. Some cancer cells slow the rate of cell death by blocking the T cell immune response, through a checkpoint. It seems that ovarian cancers do not induce T cell checkpoints. The authors conclude that there is likely to be no benefit in using checkpoint inhibition for ovarian cancer.
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