Antibody-Drug Conjugates: The New Treatment Approaches for Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer (OC), accounting for approximately 200,000 deaths worldwide annually, is a heterogeneous disease showing major differences in terms of its incidence, tumor behavior, and outcomes across histological subtypes. In OC, primary chemotherapy, paclitaxel carboplatin, bevacizumab, and PARP inhibitors have shown prolonged progression-free survival and a favorable overall response rate compared to conventional treatments. However, treatment options for platinum-resistant recurrence cases are limited, with no effective therapies that significantly prolong the prognosis. Recently, mirvetuximab soravtansine, an alpha-folate receptor (FRα)-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for patients with FRα-positive recurrent epithelial OC (EOC). This approval was based on a Phase II study, which demonstrated its efficacy in such patients. ADCs comprise an antibody, a linker, and a payload, representing new concept agents without precedence. Advanced clinical studies are developing ADCs for patients with OC, targeting solid tumors such as gynecologic cancer. Ongoing clinical trials are evaluating ADCs targeting FRα and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, trophoblast cell surface antigen-2, sodium-dependent phosphate transport protein 2B, and cadherin-6 in Phase II/III studies. In this review, we summarize the existing evidence supporting the use of ADCs in OC, discuss ongoing clinical trials and preclinical studies, and explore the potential of these innovative agents to address the challenges in OC treatment.