Affiliation:
1. MarYas Editorial Services, Cowlinge, UK
Abstract
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological malignancy
in developed countries, and often presents at an early stage. Paclitaxel plus
carboplatin is the standard first-line chemotherapy for endometrial cancer; however,
there is new evidence that the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy
has synergistic effects in the treatment of this disease. For this article, EMJ
conducted an interview in August 2023 with two key opinion leaders: Jubilee
Brown and Wendel Naumann from Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte,
North Carolina, USA, both of whom have a wealth of experience and expertise in
the management of endometrial cancer. The experts gave valuable insights into
recent developments in endometrial cancer research as presented at the Society
of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancers 2023, held
on 25th–28th March 2023 in Tampa, Florida, USA, and online. Topics discussed
included the unprecedented progression-free survival (PFS) data from two Phase III
randomised controlled trials evaluating first-line immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, RUBY with
dostarlimab, and NRG GY018 with pembrolizumab, which created a buzz at SGO
2023. Clinically meaningful benefit of dostarlimab or pembrolizumab in combination
with chemotherapy versus standard-of-care chemotherapy was seen regardless of
mismatch repair status in RUBY and NRG-GY018, respectively. Brown and Naumann
considered the implications of these results on first-line treatment and recurrent
settings, and outlined the management of immune-related adverse events related
to immunotherapy-based treatment regimens. The experts also explored key earlier
stage studies presented at SGO, and the potential for personalised medicine in
endometrial cancer. Finally, Brown and Naumann described what the future of the
management of patients with endometrial cancer might look like, which clinical trials
are needed, and which advancements in research they would like to see.