Chasing Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer: Novel Combinations and Biomarker Discovery

Abstract

A deep understanding of the tumor microenvironment and the recognition of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes as a prognostic factor have resulted in major milestones in immunotherapy that have led to therapeutic advances in treating many cancers. Yet, the translation of this knowledge to clinical success for ovarian cancer remains a challenge. The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors as single agents or combined with chemotherapy has been unsatisfactory, leading to the exploration of alternative combination strategies with targeted agents (e.g., poly-ADP-ribose inhibitors (PARP)and angiogenesis inhibitors) and novel immunotherapy approaches. Among the different histological subtypes, clear cell ovarian cancer has shown a higher sensitivity to immunotherapy. A deeper understanding of the mechanism of immune resistance within the context of ovarian cancer and the identification of predictive biomarkers remain central discovery benchmarks to be realized. This will be critical to successfully define the precision use of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of ovarian cancer.