Oregovomab not effective for maintenance therapy in ovarian cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Following chemotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer, maintenance mono-immunotherapy with the CA-125-specific murine monoclonal antibody oregovomab does not improve outcomes, according to a report published online ahead of print by the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Lead investigator Dr. Jonathan Berek told Reuters Health, "This randomized prospective double-blind placebo-controlled study showed that oregovomab used as a maintenance therapy for patients with ovarian cancer in remission after front-line platinum and taxane chemotherapy did not further extend progression-free survival."

Dr. Berek of Stanford University School of Medicine, California and colleagues randomly assigned 371 patients with stage III to IV ovarian cancer to oregovomab or placebo after they had undergone chemotherapy.

Although the agent was well tolerated, there were no significant between-group differences in outcome. Overall, the median time to relapse following chemotherapy was 10.3 months with oregovomab and 12.9 months with placebo.

"However," concluded Dr. Berek, "in this and other studies, the monoclonal antibody produced immune responses in patients receiving oregovomab, suggesting that this agent or similar agents might be useful when combined with front-line chemotherapy."

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