New drug extends life in women with advanced ovarian cancer

Women with ovarian cancer that has returned had their life extended by almost three months after treatment with a drug called cediranib, according to trial results presented by researchers from the Cancer Research UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre. The phase III trial found that cediranib, when given with platinum-based chemotherapy, extended the time before the tumour started to grow from 9.4 to 12.6 months. And women survived for an extra three months, from 17.6 to 20.3 months in the two years of follow up compared to women only given chemotherapy. Chief investigator Professor Jonathan Ledermann said: "While the increase in survival may seem modest, this is a significant finding for women with advanced ovarian cancer. Cediranib is the first drug of its kind that has been shown to delay tumour progression and improve overall survival in ovarian cancer that has returned." Cediranib, which is taken in pill form, is a type of drug called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that stops tumours from being able to make new blood vessels that are essential for cancer growth. In women whose ovarian cancer has returned and treated with the standard platinum-based chemotherapy it normally takes eight to nine months before the cancer starts to grow again. But when treated with ceradanib this was extended to over 12 months.