Novel therapies, including enzastaurin, in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Despite primary cytoreductive surgery followed by standard-of-care treatment, at least 60% of patients with ovarian cancer ultimately develop recurrent disease. There is an urgent unmet medical need to develop more effective treatments for ovarian cancer. AREAS COVERED: This article provides a summary of the novel targeted therapeutics currently in development for the treatment of ovarian cancer. EXPERT OPINION: The goal of first-line therapy is to increase progression-free survival and overall survival in women with ovarian cancer. Women with advanced disease frequently experience disease relapse following standard cytotoxic therapy, so new treatments are being explored. Using a molecular approach, targeted drugs are now being tested in clinical trials. These studies have investigated angiogenesis inhibitors (that target VEGF and other tyrosine kinases), angiopoietin inhibitors, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors, folate receptor blockers, MEK inhibitors and a protein kinase Cβ inhibitor (enzastaurin) in ovarian cancer. Of these, antiangiogenic agents (bevacizumab, pazopanib, nintedanib and trebananib) are furthest in development, having positive Phase III data. It is hoped that more effective agents are on the horizon and that the use of these agents can eventually be combined and tailored to the individual with ovarian cancer.