Chemotherapy-free treatment of recurrent advanced ovarian cancer: myth or reality?

Abstract

Advanced ovarian cancer remains a leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancy. Surgery and, in most cases, platinum-based chemotherapy with or without maintenance with bevacizumab and/or poly-ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) represent the mainstay of treatment, but the disease typically recurs. The treatment of these patients represents a clinical challenge because sequential chemotherapy regimens are often used, with suboptimal outcomes and cumulative toxicity. Chemotherapy-free regimens, based on combinations of PARPi, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitors, anti-programmed cell death protein-1/programmed death-ligand 1, and anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 antibodies, among others, represent a valid option, with manageable toxicity profile and ease of administration. This review addresses this new strategy in the management of recurrent ovarian cancer and discusses its feasibility in the treatment landscape of the disease.