New Treatments & Clinical Trials for Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is usually found late, after it has spread beyond the ovaries. Most patients receive surgery and chemotherapy with platinum drugs and taxanes. PARP inhibitors, which block a repair pathway in cancer cells, now extend remission for many women whose tumors have BRCA mutations or other DNA repair defects.

What's actually going on in research

Trials are testing new PARP inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates that deliver toxins directly to cancer cells, and combinations that overcome platinum resistance. Immunotherapy is showing promise in subsets of patients. Researchers are also working on earlier detection methods and studying tumor characteristics that predict which treatments will work.

What to know before you search

Eligibility typically depends on cancer stage, prior treatments, platinum sensitivity, BRCA or other genetic testing results, and overall health status.

What types of trials are currently open

• Maintenance trials — Testing drugs taken after chemotherapy to keep cancer from returning. PARP inhibitors and other targeted agents are common in these studies.
• Recurrence trials — Testing new treatments or combinations for ovarian cancer that has come back after initial therapy, including platinum-resistant disease.
• First-line trials — Testing new drugs alongside or instead of standard platinum-taxane chemotherapy at initial diagnosis.
• Targeted therapy trials — Testing drugs aimed at specific mutations or pathways in ovarian cancer, such as PARP inhibitors, PI3K inhibitors, or drugs targeting folate receptors.
• Biomarker studies — Collecting tissue and blood samples to identify genetic markers that predict treatment response or detect recurrence early.