Even with the availability of
advanced medical and healthcare devices, the exact cause of the disease remains
unclear; however, several associated risk factors such as women’s reproductive life,
family history, and others are accounted for significant contributors to the lifetime
risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Going by the numbers presented by
the American Cancer Society Ovarian cancer accounts for just 2.5% of all female
cancer cases, but 5% of cancer deaths occur because of the disease’s low
survival. Recognized as the most lethal gynaecological malignancy; Ovarian
cancer is predominantly a disease of older, postmenopausal women with the
majority (>80%) of cases being diagnosed in women over 50 years, and usually
is detected at advanced stages in 75% of the patients, due to no appearance of no
obvious symptoms, thus earned the tag of being a silent killer.
According to Boring CC, et al.,
survival rates of women diagnosed ta early stages range from 70-90% whereas the
percentage is way too depressing approximately 20-30% in case of advanced stages
of ovarian cancer. Patients with ovarian cancer have no obvious or specific symptoms
that could be considered for its prognosis. General symptoms range from
abdominal pain, meteorism, irregular bowel routine, sudden weight loss,
abdominal swelling, and other nonspecific complaints that make the diagnosis of
ovarian cancer hard.
After the patient is diagnosed with Ovarian cancer, the treatments are given according to the stage of cancer. There are several ways of treating ovarian cancer, depending on its type and stage.
The goal of the Ovarian
cancer treatment regimen is to target and kill the cancerous cells and eliminate
the tumor to prevent its spread to other parts of the body, slow down its progression
and diminish the chances of its recurrence. At earlier stages of tumor, surgery
is performed to remove the tumor, or by chemotherapy to shirk the tumor and
prevent relapse. However, when the cancer is detected at advanced stages, where
the tumor has metastasized to other body parts, the aim of the treatment gets confined
to treat the symptoms through chemotherapy, hormonal therapies, radiation
therapies, targeted drugs or a combination of these therapies as per the need,
with the aim to increase the survival rate.
Ovarian cancer treatment market comprises of Chemotherapy drugs such as Cisplatin, carboplatin, and paclitaxel, Antineoplastic agents including liposomal doxorubicin, topotecan, oral etoposide, gemcitabine, docetaxel, and vinorelbine along with ifosfamide, 5-fluorouracil with leucovorin, and altretamine; PARP inhibitors such as Olaparib, rucaparib, and Niraparib; and Cytoprotective Agents such as ifosfamide and cyclophosphamide. Moreover, the ovarian cancer treatment market also constitutes Antiemetics such as Antiemetics, Granisetron and Palonosetron; and Targeted therapies.
Unaddressed unmet needs
The available treatment options
might prove to be effective in some cases, but no in all the cases, hence the
patients are left distressed with many unmet needs in the Ovarian cancer
treatment market. Under available regimens, many patients suffer a relapse or
develop recurrent tumors that are resistant or refractory to further therapy.
Lack of a standard cure, the inability of current treatment options to improve
the quality of life, alter the course of the disease are the major unmet needs prevailing
in the Ovarian cancer market. Moreover, the majority of ovarian cancer patients
– approximately 80% of patients – suffer from adverse effects such as bone
marrow suppression, an increased chance of infection and bleeding, anemia,
leucopenia, neutropenia, pulmonary toxicity, and kidney and liver failure, from
drug treatments. The low safety profiles of these drugs leave a great deal of
scope for new technologies without these adverse effects to capture a
significant share of the market. Hence, there is a need for better, novel and
next-generation therapy options in the ovarian cancer market.
To redress the existing issues, currently, there are many possible new treatment options emerging from recent clinical trials, based both on the modifications of standard approaches and on the addition of new biological drugs to the standard treatment.
In the pipeline
Many players such as Immunogen, On Target Laboratories, ImmunoVaccine Technologies, OncoQuest, Precigen, and some others are involved in developing therapies for Ovarian Cancer. The launch of potential emerging therapies such as OTL38 (On Target Laboratories), 2X-121 (Oncology Venture), PX-Survivac (ImmunoVaccine Technologies), Oregovomab (OncoQuest), HPN536 (Harpoon Therapeutics), Mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853, Immunogen) and PRGN-3005 UltraCAR-T (Precigen) are expected to change the treatment landscape during the forecast period.
Owing to the launch of upcoming therapies in addition to improvement in the diagnosis methodologies, rising awareness of the diseases, incremental healthcare spending across the world, the dynamics of Ovarian Cancer market is anticipated to change by 2030.
What is Ovarian Cancer? Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that forms in the female organs that produce eggs (ovaries).
What are the sub-types pf Ovarian Cancer? Ovarian cancer can be of three types based on the location of the tumor, namely epithelial, accounting for 90% of cases, germ cell (3%), and sexcord-stromal (2%).
What are the available treatment options in the Ovarian cancer market? Ovarian cancer treatment market comprises of Chemotherapy drugs, Antineoplastic agents, PARP inhibitors, and Cytoprotective Agents. Moreover, the ovarian cancer treatment market also constitutes Antiemetics and Targeted therapies.
What are the leading companies in the Ovarian cancer market? Many players such as Immunogen, On Target Laboratories, ImmunoVaccine Technologies, OncoQuest, Precigen, and some others are involved in developing therapies for Ovarian Cancer.
