Various Pharmaceutical Companies Are Focused on R&D in Fallopian Tube Cancer for Effective Therapies

 

Fallopian tube cancer starts in the fallopian tubes, which connect a woman's ovaries to their uterus. The condition is also known as tubal cancer. The condition is very rare and was reported in about 1,500 to 2,000 women worldwide. In the U.S., around 300 to 400 women are diagnosed with the condition, annually. The general 5-year survival rate for the condition is 92%

It is more common for cancer to spread, or metastasize, from other parts of the body, such as the ovaries or endometrium, than for cancer to actually originate in the fallopian tubes. Fallopian tube cancer typically affects women between the ages of 50 and 60, although it can occur at any age.  Because this cancer is so rare, little is known about what causes it. However, researchers are investigating whether genetics play a role. There is evidence that women who have inherited the gene linked to breast and ovarian cancer, called BRCA1, are also at an increased risk of developing fallopian tube cancer.

Various pharmaceutical companies are also focused on R&D in fallopian tube cancer. AstraZeneca plc, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, and Merck & Co., Inc., d.b.a. Merck Sharp & Dohme announced in August 2019 that the trial PAOLA-1, a double-blinded Phase III trial testing the efficacy and safety of Lynparza added to standard-of-care bevacizumab versus bevacizumab alone, as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for newly diagnosed advanced FIGO Stage III-IV high-grade serous or endometroid ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer patients, met its primary endpoint of PFS in the overall trial population.

In other study, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, a Japan-based pharmaceutical company, in 2018, announced a study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of niraparib in Japanese participants with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, or primary peritoneal cancer.