Submit

Login Login

Register Register

Home / Journals / OR / Online First / doi:10.32604/or.2026.080161
Journal Menu
Special Issues
Table of Content

All issues

Online First

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Past Issues

Open Access

REVIEW

Immunotherapy in Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Successes and Frustrations

Lila A. Marshall*, Natalie L. Ayoub, Jill Tseng, Alex A. Francoeur
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of California Irvine, Orange, CA, USA
* Corresponding Author: Lila A. Marshall. Email: email
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Recent Advances in Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers: Molecular Mechanisms and Targeted Therapies)

Oncology Research https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2026.080161

Received 04 February 2026; Accepted 09 June 2026; Published online 25 June 2026

Abstract

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is most commonly diagnosed at an advanced stage and is known to recur frequently. Recurrent EOC can be difficult to treat, with limited effective options for systemic therapy. Platinum-resistant and -refractory recurrences are particularly difficult to treat, with even fewer therapeutic options than for platinum-sensitive recurrences. Less common histologic subtypes are also challenging, often with poor responses to typical systemic therapies and limited clinical trial data. With successes in the use of immunotherapy (IO) in other types of solid tumors, IO has been investigated extensively in EOC. However, the incorporation of IO in the treatment of EOC has yielded variable results; of the many clinical trials studying IO in ovarian cancer, there are very few positive results. This article discusses the role of the immune system in cancer proliferation and IO mechanisms of action, reviews clinical trials involving the use of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) in EOC, and considers the role of biomarkers in the use of IO. We also discuss the possible reasons for why most EOCs do not seem to respond as well as other solid tumors do to IO, as well as discuss the EOCs that have shown more promising responses, namely platinum-resistant disease and clear cell histology. The overarching aim of this review is to comprehensively digest the large volume of existing research pertaining to the use of IO in the treatment of ovarian cancer and examine the pitfalls and possibilities for future success in the use of IO in EOC.

Keywords

Ovarian cancer; immunotherapy (IO); pembrolizumab; biomarker; clear cell; programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1); immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI)

  • 73

    View

  • 12

    Download

  • 0

    Like

Related articles
Copyright© 2026 Tech Science Press
© 1997-2026 TSP (Henderson, USA) unless otherwise stated

Share Link