What do ovarian cancer patients need to know about immunotherapy and targeted therapy? Expert Dr. Ebony Hoskins explains how immunotherapy and targeted therapy are used, research about them, and advice to patients.
Dr. Hoskins is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and assistant professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Hoskins sees women for gynecological malignancies, which include the treatment of endometrial, ovarian, vulva, vaginal and cervical cancers.
[ACT]IVATION TIP
“…asking ‘Has my tumor been studied, or has there been any sequencing to determine if they are a candidate for targeted therapy?’”
Related Resources
Transcript
Mikki:
Dr. Hoskins, what is the role of immunotherapy or targeted therapy in ovarian cancer care?
Dr. Ebony Hoskins:
So the role of immunotherapy, I think is still kind of ongoing. We’ve seen some improvements with endometrial cancer, not so much the same with ovarian cancer. In terms of targeted therapy, there are new drugs that are coming out that are targeting a different molecular markers in the actual tumor that are now offered for patients with ovarian cancer. And that’s been shown to be proven to work and improve the response and survival. My activation tip, particularly for patients who are affected by ovarian cancer, is asking, “Has my tumor been studied, or has there been any sequencing to determine if they are a candidate for targeted therapy?”
Mikki:
Thank you.