Title:Exploring the Clinical Impact of Predictive Biomarkers in Serous Ovarian Carcinomas
Volume: 21
Issue: 10
Author(s): Cécile Le Page*, Jacqueline Chung, Kurosh Rahimi, Martin Köbel, Diane Provencher and Anne-Marie Mes-Masson
Affiliation:
- Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Universite de Montreal (CRCHUM) and Institut du cancer de Montreal, Montreal, QC,Canada
Keywords:
BRCA, markers, PARP inhibitors, immunotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, hormone therapy, long-term survival,
targeted therapy, high-grade serous, low-grade serous.
Abstract: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy. Although initial
response rates to standard platinum-based treatment are at 70–80%, long-term response in advanced
EOC disease is rarely achieved with the development of chemoresistance and recurrence, contributing
to overall survival rates below 45%. Additional challenges stem from EOC heterogeneity,
reflecting at least five histological subtypes, each with different underlying molecular characteristics
and clinicopathology that have significant implications in treatment effectiveness and management.
Since the last decade, technologies in genomics, proteomics and pathology have been deployed to find
reliable clinical markers that can identify patients sensitive to standard chemotherapy treatments and
stratify patients for more suitable targeted therapies. These efforts have identified several molecular
markers of prognostic value that have been validated as biomarkers, such as BRCA and KRAS mutations,
or are currently under investigation in clinical trials, such as CD8 T cells, immune checkpoint
inhibitors and progesterone receptor. Recent advancements in biomarker research have also revealed
new targets that have expanded treatment options, introducing poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)
inhibitors, anti-angiogenic agents, inhibitors targeting signaling pathways, and immunotherapy to improve
maintenance therapies or enhance first-line therapy. This review presents a summary of current
biomarkers, in clinical use or under evaluation, demonstrating a potential to inform on patient selection
for treatment efficacy and predict response to EOC therapies, with particular focus on the serous
subtypes, including high-grade and low-grade serous carcinomas.
