Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials

Yes. There are trials specifically designed for patients whose disease progressed on or after PARP inhibitor therapy. These trials may test new drug classes, combinations that work differently from PARP inhibitors, or next-generation PARP inhibitors designed to overcome resistance. Prior PARP inhibitor use does not exclude you from trial participation.

Yes, and this is one of the most active areas of ovarian cancer research. Platinum-resistant disease, where cancer returns within six months of completing platinum-based chemotherapy, has limited standard options. Multiple trials are testing antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, and novel immunotherapy approaches specifically for this population.

No. While some trials specifically enroll patients with BRCA mutations, many ovarian cancer trials are open to all patients regardless of BRCA status. Some trials select patients based on other biomarkers like HRD status or folate receptor expression. There are trials available for virtually every molecular profile.

It depends on the trial. Most drug-based clinical trials do not require additional surgery, though some may require a tumor biopsy for biomarker testing. Surgical trials, which study techniques like HIPEC or optimal debulking approaches, will involve operative procedures. The informed consent document will clearly outline any surgical requirements.

Most ovarian cancer trials include regular CA-125 monitoring as part of the study protocol, often at every visit or every treatment cycle. However, treatment decisions within trials are typically based on imaging scans (CT or PET-CT) rather than CA-125 alone, since CA-125 levels can fluctuate for reasons unrelated to disease status.