(BPT) - According to the American Cancer Society, half of all ovarian cancers are found in women who are 63 years old or older. However, low grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC), which represents approximately 10% of all ovarian cancer types, tends to be diagnosed at a younger age. While this kind of cancer is associated with slow tumor growth, it is also resistant to chemotherapy (the resistance is primarily in the recurrent setting). Previous studies have found that approximately 85% of patients with LGSOC experience recurrent disease, after remission.

Treatments for LGSOC

The initial treatment for LGSOC consists of surgery to remove visible signs of cancer, followed by chemotherapy. Potential treatments for the recurrence of the disease after initial treatment also include hormone inhibitors and MEK inhibitors.

However, effectively treating LGSOC remains challenging for doctors and their patients. A 2020 paper published in Gynecologic Oncology reported that the current treatments are associated with:

• Low response rates
• Less than optimal efficacy
• High toxicity, making it difficult for patients to stay on the therapy

In an effort to improve the treatment of LGSOC, targeted therapies are being studied that may have the potential to stop or slow tumor growth, along with less toxicity than previous treatments. One of them, a new investigational therapy called VS-6766, is now being evaluated in a phase 2 clinical trial called RAMP 201. The trial is evaluating whether this new therapy, either alone or in combination with another agent called defactinib, can be effective and safe in treating patients with this specific form of ovarian cancer.

“Women who are diagnosed with LGSOC often experience a significant amount of pain and impact on their lives over a long period of time, as currently available therapies have low response rates and significant toxicity,” said Kathleen Moore, MD, MS, Associate Professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Oklahoma and Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma and one of the study’s investigators. “Our goal with this trial is to evaluate a new investigational treatment regimen that may be able to provide better outcomes for these patients.”

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial is a research study that people volunteer to take part in. Clinical trials can help doctors find better treatments for cancer and other diseases. Most new ways of finding, preventing and treating cancer were discovered in clinical trials. You might want to consider taking part in a clinical trial for a specific reason, or for several reasons, such as:

• Your healthcare team might recommend one as part of your treatment strategy.
• You want to be able to try an investigational treatment that is under study.
• You may want to help other people who have cancer.
• You might want to help doctors find ways to prevent cancer or get better at treating cancer.

In order to fully investigate whether VS-6766 is safe and effective, more patients are needed to participate in the RAMP 201 clinical trial.

If you are being treated by an oncologist for LGSOC, ask your doctor about the possibility of enrolling in a clinical trial such as RAMP 201. You can also visit www.ramp201study.com to learn more, and to take an initial online pre-screening to determine if you might be considered eligible to participate in the clinical trial.