MITO39: Efficacy and Tolerability of Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin (PLD)-Trabectedin in the Treatment of Relapsed Ovarian Cancer after Maintenance Therapy with PARP Inhibitors-A Multicenter Italian Trial in Ovarian Cancer Observational Case-Control Study

Cancers (Basel). 2023 Dec 20;16(1):41. doi: 10.3390/cancers16010041.

Abstract

Objective: While PLD-Trabectedin is an approved treatment for relapsed platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, its efficacy and tolerability has so far not been tested extensively in patients who progress after poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) treatment.

Methodology: This multicenter, retrospective analysis had the objective of comparing patients receiving PLD-Trabectedin after being treated with PARP-I (cases) with PARPi-naïve patients. Descriptive and survival analyses were performed for each group.

Results: Data from 166 patients were collected, composed of 109 cases and 57 controls. In total, 135 patients were included in our analyses, composing 46 controls and 89 cases. The median PFS was 11 months (95% IC 10-12) in the control group vs. 8 months (95% IC 6-9) in the case group (p value 0.0017). The clinical benefit rate was evaluated, with an HR for progression of 2.55 (1.28-5.06) for the case group (p value 0.008), persisting when adjusted for BRCA and line with treatment. We compared hematological toxicity, gastro-intestinal toxicity, hand-foot syndrome (HFS), fatigue, and liver toxicity, and no statistically significant disparity was noted, except for HFS with a p value of 0.006. The distribution of G3 and G4 toxicities was also equally represented.

Conclusion: The MITO39 study showed a statistically significant difference in terms of PFS, suggesting that previous exposure to PARPi might inhibit the efficacy of PLD-Trabectedin. Regarding tolerability, no remarkable disparity was noted; PLD-Trabectedin was confirmed to be a well-tolerated scheme in both groups. To our knowledge, these are the first data regarding this topic, which we deem to be of great relevance in the current landscape.

Keywords: PARPi; PLD-Trabectedin; ovarian cancer; platinum-sensitive disease.