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Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH
Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH
Posted: Tuesday, January 20, 2026
The addition of relacorilant to nab-paclitaxel improved clinical outcomes in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer previously treated with a PARP inhibitor, according to findings from the phase III ROSELLA trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress 2025 (Abstract LBA45).
Relacorilant is a selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist designed to increase tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy. Disease progression following PARP inhibition has been associated with diminished responses to subsequent chemotherapy for patients with ovarian cancer.
ROSELLA (GOG-3073/ENGOT-ov72/APGOT-OV10) enrolled 381 patients with platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel alone. A preplanned subgroup analysis focused on the 234 patients (61%) who had received a prior PARP inhibitor; 78% of these patients had experienced radiographic disease progression while receiving PARP inhibition. Baseline characteristics in this subgroup were comparable to those of the overall intent-to-treat population.
In patients previously exposed to a PARP inhibitor, the combination of relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel resulted in a median progression-free survival of 7.36 months compared with 4.63 months for nab-paclitaxel alone (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42–0.85; nominal P = .0035). Median overall survival was 15.61 months in the combination arm vs 12.58 months in the control arm (HR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.53–1.13; nominal P = .1834).
The safety profile of relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel in the prior PARP inhibitor subgroup was consistent with that observed in the overall study population. Rates of grade 3 or higher adverse events (71.1% vs 74.5%) and serious adverse events (31.6% vs 35.1%) were similar between the combination and control arms, respectively, with no new safety signals reported.
“In patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer previously exposed to a PARP inhibitor, relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel showed clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free and overall survival,” the study authors, led by Domenica Lorusso, MD, PhD, Director of Gynaecological Oncology Unit at Humanitas Hospital San Pio X, Milan, concluded. “These findings support further exploration of relacorilant to improve outcomes for this challenging patient population.”
Disclosure: The study was funded by Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit oncologypro.esmo.org.
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