Insights

DECEMBER 8, 2009

New Treatment Strategies for Ovarian Cancer offer Hope for a Better Prognosis

Oliver Dorigo, MD, PhD

The current primary treatment of ovarian cancer includes surgery followed by chemotherapy.  The majority of patients are clinically tumor free after completion of primary treatment.  However, most patients will recur with disease and therefore require further therapy. Options for the treatment of recurrent disease include chemotherapy, surgery, and at times radiation.  Control of tumor disease is frequently possible over many years, although treatment side effect and the development of wide spread therapy-resistant disease limits the utility of currently available agents. In recent years, our increased understanding of ovarian cancer biology has allowed the generation of novel treatment strategies that include molecular, hormonal and immunological approaches. Molecular therapies are able to target specific growth promoting pathways in ovarian cancer cells and lead to tumor shrinkage. One of the most promising strategies is directed against tumor vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the tumor cell.  Antibody treatment is now available that lead to a decrease in tumor vessels followed by death of the tumor cells.  Various clinical trials using these agents in ovarian cancer have shown very promising effect in patients. Other new drugs are able to block certain proteins on ovarian cancer cells that stop their growth and metastasis. Immunotherapy currently under investigation includes antibodies that can stimulate an immune response against ovarian cancers.

Oliver Dorigo, MD, PhD, is Gynecologic Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the UCLA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Dorigo received his medical degree from the University of Heidelberg Medical School in Germany. Following three years of OB/GYN residency training at the University of Munich, Germany, he moved to the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego, CA, to conduct cancer gene therapy research. Dr. Dorigo joined the UCLA Department of OB/GYN in 1995, and completed his residency in 1999. He subsequently pursued basic science training with Dr. Arnold Berk at the Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA.  As a member of the STAR (Specialty Training and Advanced Research) program, he received his PhD in Molecular Biology in 2003. After completion of his fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at UCLA/Cedars Sinai Medical Center in 2005, he joined the UCLA Division of Gynecologic Oncology as Assistant Professor. In his clinical practice, Dr. Dorigo provides care for patients with gynecological cancers. In addition, Dr. Dorigo is actively pursuing research in ovarian cancer, focusing on the development of novel molecular therapy.