NCCN Annual Conference 2018: Updated Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer
Posted: Wednesday, April 11, 2018
The use of oral poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for maintenance therapy may be the most impactful change to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Ovarian Cancer, according to Deborah K. Armstrong, MD, of The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, who presented the updated Guidelines at the 2018 NCCN Annual Conference in Orlando. The updates also provide more detailed histologic subtyping and an expanded list of PARP inhibitors for both active and maintenance therapies.
“The biggest issue in ovarian cancer that’s changed in the past couple of years is the use of PARP inhibitors as maintenance therapy,” Dr. Armstrong told the attendees at the conference. “We think every platinum-sensitive patient should be considered for maintenance.” The number of available PARP inhibitors has grown since 2014 and currently includes rucaparib (for active disease), niraparib (for maintenance therapy), and olaparib (for both active disease and maintenance therapy).
Patients with BRCA mutations may respond well to PARP inhibitors, and thus the molecular profile of ovarian cancer is important, noted Dr. Armstrong. She stressed that all women with ovarian cancer should undergo genetic counseling and with “strong consideration” for genetic testing.
The Guidelines have expanded histologic subtyping to include epithelial, germ cell, and sex cord or stromal cell types. Each subtype varies in frequency, patient age range, and stage at diagnosis. According to the updates, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers are now considered “ovarian cancers” as well.
Visit nccn.org for the complete updated NCCN Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer.
