The CTC has announced the opening of a new international ovarian cancer trial called ICON9, supported by Cancer Research UK and Astrazeneca. The study is assessing maintenance treatment for women whose ovarian cancer has recurred after their first chemotherapy treatment.
Doctors are looking at new ways to improve the treatment of women with ovarian cancer. Within ICON9, patients who have completed a course of chemotherapy for recurrent ovarian cancer will receive treatment with either olaparib or a combination of olaparib and cediranib. The trial is assessing if this extra treatment after chemotherapy may help to control their cancer.
Olaparib is a PARP inhibitor. It blocks an enzyme called PARP, which helps damaged cancer cells to repair themselves. By disrupting PARP function, cancer cells are less able to repair themselves.
Cediranib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It prevents cancer cells from developing a new blood supply, which is essential for growth. Other studies have shown that the combination of olaparib and cediranib can help to control cancer regrowth.
The main aim of ICON9 is to see if olaparib and cediranib can delay cancer regrowth, and to understand the biology behind why these treatments work better for some women than others.
Chief investigator of the study, Shibani Nicum, remarked: ‘This is an exciting trial because of the potential benefit it can bring to women living with the disease.’
ICON9 is an international study and researchers require 618 women to take part. It will open in 30 sites in the UK and approximately 50 sites internationally. The trial is due to complete recruitment by 2021.
More details on the trial can be found here.