Chemo + Immunotherapy for Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Overseen By Rebecca Arend, MD, MSPH

Age: 18+

Sex: Female

Trial Phase: Phase 2

Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Must be taking: Carboplatin, Paclitaxel

Must not be taking: CYP3A4 inhibitors, CYP3A4 inducers

Disqualifiers: Mucinous tumors, Pneumonitis, MDS/AML, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Prior Safety Data This treatment has passed at least one previous human trial

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

20 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer. It evaluates the effectiveness of these treatments both before and after tumor-removal surgery. Participants should have Stage III or IV ovarian cancer and plan to undergo surgery. This trial may suit those newly diagnosed who have not yet received treatment. As a Phase 2 trial, it measures the treatment's effectiveness in an initial, smaller group, allowing participants to contribute to important research.

Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?

The trial requires a washout period (time without taking certain medications) for specific drugs that affect liver enzymes, such as certain antibiotics and antifungals, before starting olaparib. If you are taking these medications, you may need to stop them for 2 to 5 weeks before joining the trial. For other medications, the protocol does not specify, so it's best to discuss with the trial team.

Is there any evidence suggesting that this trial's treatments are likely to be safe?

Research has shown that combining carboplatin, paclitaxel, and pembrolizumab is generally safe for treating advanced ovarian cancer. In one study, the most common side effects were low red blood cell count (anemia) and tiredness, each affecting about 79% of patients. Another study confirmed the safe use of this combination.

For the maintenance phase, using olaparib with pembrolizumab also appeared safe. Common side effects included nausea in 50% of patients, anemia in 45%, and vomiting in 30%. Serious side effects occurred in about 35% of patients.

Overall, these treatments have demonstrated a manageable safety profile for people with advanced ovarian cancer. Participants should discuss potential risks and benefits with their healthcare provider. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial's treatments?

Researchers are excited about the combination of carboplatin, olaparib, and pembrolizumab for advanced ovarian cancer because it brings together chemotherapy, a PARP inhibitor, and immunotherapy in a novel way. Unlike most current treatments that primarily rely on chemotherapy, this combo uses pembrolizumab to harness the immune system to fight cancer cells, while olaparib targets cancer cells with specific genetic weaknesses. This multi-pronged approach could improve effectiveness and potentially offer better outcomes for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

What evidence suggests that this trial's treatments could be effective for advanced ovarian cancer?

Research has shown that using carboplatin, paclitaxel, and pembrolizumab together may help treat advanced ovarian cancer. In one study, 55% of patients had a complete response, meaning their cancer was undetectable after treatment. This trial will evaluate the combination of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and pembrolizumab, followed by maintenance therapy with olaparib and pembrolizumab post-surgery. Another study found that adding pembrolizumab to chemotherapy helped patients live longer without their cancer worsening, compared to chemotherapy alone. Additionally, using pembrolizumab with olaparib as ongoing treatment has helped patients with BRCA mutations, a genetic link to ovarian cancer, live longer without their cancer worsening. These findings suggest that this combination treatment could be effective for advanced ovarian cancer. ^{1 2 3 6 7}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Rebecca C. Arend

Principal Investigator

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for women over 18 with advanced (Stage III/IV) ovarian cancer, who haven't had treatment yet. They should be in good health otherwise, not pregnant or breastfeeding, and willing to use contraception. Women must have a certain level of organ function and a specific tumor type to join.

Inclusion Criteria

I am a woman aged 18 or older.

I am eligible for carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy before surgery to reduce my tumor size.

My blood counts and organ functions are within the required ranges for the study.

Exclusion Criteria

I am taking strong or moderate drugs that affect liver enzymes and can't stop them for the study.

I have not had a whole blood transfusion in the last 4 months but may have had other blood component transfusions over a month ago.

I have a serious health condition that is not under control.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Participants receive a one-cycle lead-in of carboplatin (with or without) paclitaxel followed by three cycles of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and pembrolizumab prior to interval debulking surgery

12-20 weeks

Multiple visits for chemotherapy administration

Interval Debulking Surgery

Participants undergo interval debulking surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

1 week

1 surgical visit

Post-Surgery Chemotherapy

Participants receive three cycles of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and pembrolizumab after interval debulking surgery

9-12 weeks

Multiple visits for chemotherapy administration

Maintenance Therapy

Participants receive maintenance therapy with olaparib and pembrolizumab, with optional bevacizumab if no complete response is achieved

24-36 months

Regular visits for maintenance therapy

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment

36 months

Regular follow-up visits

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Carboplatin
• Olaparib
• Pembrolizumab

Trial Overview The study tests three chemotherapy drugs—Carboplatin, Paclitaxel (Taxol), and Pembrolizumab—before surgery to remove the tumor. After surgery, Olaparib combined with Pembrolizumab is given as maintenance therapy to prevent cancer from coming back.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Carbo/taxol/pembro followed by maintenance of olaparib/pembro post-surgery Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

neoadjuvant carbo/taxol/pembro followed by maintenance olaparib/pembro post- surgery

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,677

Recruited

2,458,000+

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Industry Sponsor

Trials

4,096

Recruited

5,232,000+

Chirfi Guindo

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Chief Marketing Officer since 2022

Degree in Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Paris, MBA from New York University Stern School of Business

Robert M. Davis

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Chief Executive Officer since 2021

JD from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Bachelor's in Finance from Miami University

Published Research Related to This Trial

Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, can cause pneumonitis in 1%-5% of patients, and this case report highlights an atypical presentation of this side effect in a patient with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma.

The patient was successfully treated with steroid therapy after ruling out other potential causes, leading to complete resolution of the pneumonitis, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and managing atypical cases of checkpoint inhibitor-pneumonitis.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Recurrent and atypical immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced pneumonitis. Jeon, WJ., Nguyen, J., Castillo, DR., et al.[2023]

The combination of pembrolizumab and carboplatin was found to be well-tolerated and showed activity in patients with recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, with a median overall survival of 11.3 months.

Patients with a higher ratio of peripheral CD8+PD1+Ki67+ T cells to tumor burden had significantly longer overall survival, suggesting this ratio could help identify those who may benefit more from this treatment approach.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pembrolizumab with low-dose carboplatin for recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer: survival and immune correlates. Liao, JB., Gwin, WR., Urban, RR., et al.[2022]

Olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, showed a 36% objective response rate in women with relapsed ovarian cancer and a germline BRCA1/2 mutation, even after they had undergone multiple lines of chemotherapy, indicating its efficacy in this challenging patient population.

The median duration of response to olaparib was 7.4 months, and the safety profile was consistent across patients who had received three or more lines of prior chemotherapy, with similar rates of serious adverse events.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olaparib monotherapy in patients with advanced relapsed ovarian cancer and a germline BRCA1/2 mutation: a multistudy analysis of response rates and safety. Matulonis, UA., Penson, RT., Domchek, SM., et al.[2022]

The combination of olaparib and carboplatin is tolerable and shows clinical benefit in patients with BRCA wild-type high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, with a clinical benefit rate of 64% in heavily pretreated patients.

The maximum tolerated dose was established at olaparib 400 mg twice daily with carboplatin AUC4, although significant side effects like neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were observed, indicating the need for careful monitoring during treatment.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phase I/Ib study of olaparib and carboplatin in heavily pretreated recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancer at low genetic risk. Lampert, EJ., Hays, JL., Kohn, EC., et al.[2023]

In a phase Ib trial involving 26 patients with advanced PD-L1-positive ovarian cancer, pembrolizumab demonstrated a confirmed objective response rate of 11.5%, indicating some level of antitumor activity, with 1 complete response and 2 partial responses observed.

The treatment was generally well-tolerated, with 73.1% of patients experiencing treatment-related adverse events, but no deaths or treatment discontinuations due to these events, suggesting that pembrolizumab has a manageable safety profile.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pembrolizumab in patients with programmed death ligand 1-positive advanced ovarian cancer: Analysis of KEYNOTE-028. Varga, A., Piha-Paul, S., Ott, PA., et al.[2019]

The GEICO1601-ROLANDO trial is a Phase II study investigating the combination of olaparib (a PARP inhibitor) and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, regardless of BRCA mutation status.

The primary goal of the trial is to assess progression-free survival at 6 months, with additional measures including response rate, disease control rate, quality of life, and overall survival, aiming to improve treatment outcomes in a population with historically low response to PARP inhibitors.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

GEICO1601-ROLANDO: a multicentric single arm Phase II clinical trial to evaluate the combination of olaparib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Perez-Fidalgo, JA., Iglesias, M., Bohn, U., et al.[2020]

In a phase III trial involving 266 patients with germline BRCA-mutated platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer, olaparib showed a significantly higher objective response rate (ORR) of 72.2% compared to 51.4% for nonplatinum chemotherapy, indicating its efficacy as a treatment option.

Olaparib also demonstrated a longer progression-free survival (PFS) of 13.4 months versus 9.2 months for chemotherapy, suggesting it not only works better but also helps patients live longer without disease progression.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olaparib Versus Nonplatinum Chemotherapy in Patients With Platinum-Sensitive Relapsed Ovarian Cancer and a Germline BRCA1/2 Mutation (SOLO3): A Randomized Phase III Trial. Penson, RT., Valencia, RV., Cibula, D., et al.[2021]

In a study of 120 ovarian cancer patients, the combination of olaparib with paclitaxel and carboplatin significantly improved the objective remission rate and disease control rate compared to the standard treatment with paclitaxel and carboplatin alone.

The addition of olaparib also resulted in lower levels of tumor markers and a reduced rate of tumor metastasis after one year, all without increasing the incidence of adverse effects.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olaparib and paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin in treatment of ovarian cancer: influence on disease control. Zhang, H., Zhang, Y.[2022]

A pilot study in Korea is investigating biomarker-driven targeted therapies for 68 patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer, focusing on HRD and PD-L1 status to tailor treatments.

Patients will receive different combinations of treatments based on their biomarker status, with the primary goal of assessing the response rate 6 months after starting treatment, highlighting a personalized approach to cancer therapy.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An umbrella study of biomarker-driven targeted therapy in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer: a Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group study (KGOG 3045), AMBITION. Lee, JY., Yi, JY., Kim, HS., et al.[2020]

The combination of olaparib and carboplatin was found to be safe and effective in treating breast and ovarian cancer in patients with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, with 50% of patients showing a partial response and one patient achieving a complete response.

Proteomic analysis indicated that high levels of FOXO3a expression before treatment may predict a better response to the therapy, suggesting a potential biomarker for future studies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phase I/Ib study of olaparib and carboplatin in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation-associated breast or ovarian cancer with biomarker analyses. Lee, JM., Hays, JL., Annunziata, CM., et al.[2022]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10894939/

Carboplatin, paclitaxel, and pembrolizumab followed by ... Results. A total of 29 patients were enrolled and evaluated for efficacy and safety. The best response to therapy was complete response in 16 (55%) patients ...

2. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2666634024003039

Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in frontline treatment of ... Researchers demonstrated that pembrolizumab can be combined with chemotherapy for the frontline treatment of advanced stage ovarian cancer without compromising ...

3. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02520154

Pembrolizumab, Carboplatin, and Paclitaxel in Treating ... Giving pembrolizumab in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel may be a better treatment for ovarian, primary peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer.

4. oncologynewscentral.com oncologynewscentral.com/ovarian-cancer/phase-3-trial-of-pembrolizumab-combo-in-advanced-ovarian-cancer-raises-questions

Phase 3 Trial of Pembrolizumab Combo in Advanced ... The median PFS for pembrolizumab plus olaparib was 23.9 months compared with 15.2 months for chemotherapy alone.

5. ascopost.com ascopost.com/issues/april-25-2025/combination-therapy-for-newly-diagnosed-brca-nonmutated-advanced-epithelial-ovarian-cancer/

Nonmutated, Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer In the CPS ≥ 10 population, the median overall survival was 56.4 months with pembrolizumab (HR = 0.94) and 50.2 months with pembrolizumab/ ...

6. gynecologiconcology-online.net gynecologiconcology-online.net/article/S0090-8258(18)30388-3/fulltext

Preliminary data on the use of combination carboplatin ... This phase II trial (in progress) is evaluating the combination of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and pembrolizumab in patients with ovarian cancer and suboptimal ...

7. ascopubs.org ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2025.43.16_suppl.5516

Updated survival analysis from OVATION-2 trial. IMNN-001 demonstrated trends towards material improvement in overall survival and acceptable safety in advanced EOC, especially in HRD+ patients.