Investigational ovarian cancer drug (MLN8237) shows promise against platinum resistant disease

Phase II trial

A drug being developed as a treatment for ovarian cancer has shown single agent activity with durable disease control in some patients in a Phase-II clinical trial, an international research group has reported.
Dr Ursula Matulonis from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the USA reported the results of the single-agent trial of the drug, called MLN8237, in a poster at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).
MLN8237 selectively inhibits an enzyme known as Aurora A kinase, which is a member of a family of kinase enzymes involved in normal cell division. Researchers have found that Aurora A kinase is over-expressed in some cancer cells, leading to growth of cancers.
"In epithelial ovarian cancer, Aurora A kinase has been reported to be frequently upregulated or overexpressed, and associated with worse clinical outcome," Dr Matulonis said. "This is why an effective Aurora A Kinase inhibitor is a potential new therapy to be used alone or in combination with other standard agents such as paclitaxel."...cont'd