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Rethinking ovarian cancer II: reducing mortality from high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 15, pages 668–679 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) accounts for 70–80% of ovarian cancer deaths, and overall survival has not changed significantly for several decades. In this Opinion article, we outline a set of research priorities that we believe will reduce incidence and improve outcomes for women with this disease. This 'roadmap' for HGSOC was determined after extensive discussions at an Ovarian Cancer Action meeting in January 2015.

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Figure 1: Clinical and molecular features of HGSOC at a glance.
Figure 2: Fallopian tube origins of HGSOC.
Figure 3: The complex tumour microenvironment of HGSOC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Genomics and Genetics Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 8006, Australia,

    David D. Bowtell

  2. and the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute for Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, 2010 New South Wales, Australia.,

    David D. Bowtell

  3. Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, EC1M6BQ, London, UK

    Steffen Böhm & Frances R. Balkwill

  4. Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, OX3 9DS, Oxford, UK

    Ahmed A. Ahmed

  5. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90048, California, USA

    Paul-Joseph Aspuria & Beth Y. Karlan

  6. MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, 77030–4009, Texas, USA

    Robert C. Bast Jr, Karen H. Lu & Anil K. Sood

  7. University of Oxford, Headington, OX3 7LF, Oxford, UK

    Valerie Beral

  8. Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Jonathan S. Berek

  9. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, 02114, Massachusetts, USA

    Michael J. Birrer

  10. Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, London, W12 0NN, UK

    Sarah Blagden, Christina Fotopoulou, Hani Gabra & Euan A. Stronach

  11. Arizona Oncology, Tucson, 85711, Arizona, USA

    Michael A. Bookman

  12. Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Li Ka Shing Centre, CB2 0RE, Cambridge, UK

    James D. Brenton & Filipe Correia Martins

  13. The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, 21287, Maryland, USA

    Katherine B. Chiappinelli

  14. University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    George Coukos

  15. University of Pennsylvania, Penn Ovarian Cancer Research Center, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Ronny Drapkin

  16. University of Manchester, M13 9WL, Manchester, UK

    Richard Edmondson

  17. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, UMRS1138, Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, Cordeliers Research Center, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, 75006, Paris, France

    Jérôme Galon

  18. Cancer Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, EH4 2XR, Edinburgh, UK

    Charlie Gourley

  19. Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia

    Valerie Heong & Clare L. Scott

  20. Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, V6T 2B5, British Columbia, Canada

    David G. Huntsman

  21. Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Marcin Iwanicki

  22. Ovarian Cancer Action, NW1 OJH, London, UK

    Allyson Kaye

  23. University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, Illinois, USA

    Ernst Lengyel & Iris L. Romero

  24. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, New York, USA

    Douglas A. Levine

  25. University of Glasgow, G61 1QH, Glasgow, UK

    Iain A. McNeish

  26. Women's Cancer, Institute for Women's Health, University College London, WC1E 6BT, London, UK

    Usha Menon

  27. Women's College Research Institute, Toronto, M5G 1N8, Ontario, Canada

    Steven A. Narod

  28. British Columbia Cancer Agency, Victoria, V8R 6V5, British Columbia, Canada

    Brad H. Nelson

  29. Indiana University School of Medicine & Simon Cancer Center, Bloomington, 47405–4401, IN, USA

    Kenneth P. Nephew

  30. University of Cambridge, Strangeways Research Laboratory, CB1 8RN, Cambridge, UK

    Paul Pharoah

  31. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104–5156, PA, USA

    Daniel J. Powell Jr

  32. Translational Genomics Research Institute (Tgen), Phoenix, 85004, Arizona, USA

    Pilar Ramos

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  2. Steffen Böhm
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  3. Ahmed A. Ahmed
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  34. Paul Pharoah
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  36. Pilar Ramos
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  37. Iris L. Romero
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  38. Clare L. Scott
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  39. Anil K. Sood
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  40. Euan A. Stronach
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  41. Frances R. Balkwill
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to David D. Bowtell or Frances R. Balkwill.

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Competing interests

The following authors declare competing interests: D.D.B. has received research grant funding from Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and Roche. M.A.B. declares participation in ad-hoc advisory boards regarding investigational (non-marketed) agents for development of clinical trials in ovarian cancer, including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, Clovis, Daiichi-Sankyo, Cerulean, Emdocyte, Immunogen, Oxigene, Genentech-Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim. He declares financial compensation and travel support for these meetings. He has participated in Independent Data Monitoring Committees (IDMC) for Phase III trials in ovarian cancer for Genentech-Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim, with financial compensation for time and travel. J.D.B. is cofounder and own shares in Inivata Ltd. R.C.B. has royalties from Fujirebio Diagnostics. G.C. has undertaken consultancies for Roche, Sanofi and Pierre-Fabre, and has grants or support for research from Boehringer Ingelheim. R.D. is on the scientific advisory board of Siamab Therapeutics. C.G's employer (Edinburgh University) has received payments for his attendance at advisory boards from Roche, AstraZeneca and Nucana, for his lectures from Roche and AstraZeneca, and for clinical research from AstraZeneca, Aprea and GlaxoSmithKline. He is named as an inventor on issued patents and patent applications regarding the Almac AADX assay. J.G. is cofounder and shareholder of HalioDx Biotech company. D.G.H. is founder, shareholder and Chief Medical Officer of Contextual Genomics. B.Y.K. has grants or support for research from AstraZeneca, Tesaro, Dana-Farber Cancer Center/NCI, Amgen and Cancer International Research Group, and is co-inventor of 'Molecular Signatures of Ovarian Cancer', patent pending. D.A.L. declares speaking honoraria from Roche Products, has a patent application on Detection of Ovarian Cancer and stock options in Critical Outcomes Technologies I.A.M. is on advisory boards for Clovis Oncology, Astra Zeneca and Roche. U.M. owns stock in Abcodia that has an interest in early detection of ovarian cancer. D.J.P. has obtained consulting fees from Lion Biotherapeutics, research funding through an alliance between The University of Pennsylvania and Novartis, and patents on the application of chimeric antigen receptors in oncology. C.L.S. has had honoraria, travel and accommodation expenses from Roche, Astra Zeneca, Clovis Oncology and given expert testimony for Astra Zeneca and Speakers' Bureau Prime Oncology. All other authors declare no competing interests.

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Bowtell, D., Böhm, S., Ahmed, A. et al. Rethinking ovarian cancer II: reducing mortality from high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Nat Rev Cancer 15, 668–679 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc4019

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