An experimental drug added to standard chemotherapy has markedly extended survival in a mid-stage ovarian cancer trial, according to researchers reporting results from a study in Belarus. 
The trial involved 30 women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who also had high levels of the cancer marker CA-125 in their blood. All participants received the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine; half were also given the investigational therapy elenagen as a once-weekly muscle injection. 
Patients treated with the combination lived significantly longer overall than those on chemotherapy alone, with median survival in the elenagen group surpassing 25 months, compared with about 13 months for the control group receiving only gemcitabine. The additional treatment was associated with a near 60 % reduction in the risk of death and was reported to have a similar safety profile to standard care, without added toxicity. 
Elenagen, developed by biotech firm CureLab Oncology, is designed to modulate the immune response and target cancer-associated inflammation. The drug’s performance in this small trial has prompted plans for larger studies in the United States to further evaluate its potential benefit for patients with hard-to-treat ovarian cancer. 
The findings add to an evolving body of research on therapies aimed at improving outcomes for women with ovarian cancer that no longer responds to first-line platinum-based treatments.
