Novel therapies for recurrent ovarian cancer management.

The search for novel therapies has resulted in a number of biologic agents that target cellular processes and molecules involved in ovarian carcinogenesis. These drugs include cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, protease inhibitors and gene replacement systems. Many of these have been evaluated in Phase I/II trials and are currently being investigated in Phase III trials. This paper will review the progress of and ongoing clinical studies evaluating the potential utility of these new agents in patients affected with ovarian cancer. Further development and investigation of these agents may eventually lead to a combination of treatments that ultimately results in improved survival for patients with ovarian cancer.