Drug discovery in ovarian cancer

Drug discovery in the ovarian cancer arena has led to the activation of several important clinical trials. Many biologic agents have come down the pipeline and are being studied in phase II trials for recurrent disease. These agents include antivascular compounds that disrupt angiogenesis through a variety of mechanisms (e.g., prevention of ligand-binding to the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGF-R2), high-affinity VEGF blockade, oral inhibitors of tyrosine kinases stimulated by VEGF, inhibition of alpha5beta1 integrin, neutralization of angioproteins, etc.). Other novel drugs include oral platinum compounds as well as those that antagonize the tumor proliferation genes in the Hedgehog pathway, and that target folic acid receptors which are expressed by ovarian cancer cells. In addition, studies are underway with oral agents that inhibit the tyrosine kinase activity associated with two oncogenes (epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and HER-2/neu). Finally, emerging technologies in clinical trials include nanotechnology to enhance delivery of chemotherapy to ovarian tumors, drug resistance/sensitivity assays to guide therapy, and agents that mobilize and induce proliferation of hematopoetic progenitor cells to aid in red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet recovery following chemotherapy. The relevant patents in drug discovery of ovarian cancer are discussed.