A trial looking at cediranib for ovarian cancer that has come back (ICON 6)

Cancer type:

Ovarian cancer

Status:

Results

Phase:

Phase 3

This trial was looking at a drug called cediranib alongside chemotherapy for ovarian cancer that had come back after having chemotherapy that included a platinum drug. The trial was supported by Cancer Research UK.

More about this trial

Doctors often treat ovarian cancer with surgery followed by chemotherapy. The chemotherapy usually includes a platinum drug such as carboplatin or cisplatin. If ovarian cancer comes back after this type of treatment, you may have more chemotherapy. But researchers are looking for ways to improve treatment. In this trial they looked at a drug called cediranib alongside further chemotherapy.

Cediranib (also known as AZD2171) is type of biological therapy called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). It stops cancers from being able to make new blood vessels that are essential for their growth.

The aims of this trial were to find out

If cediranib and chemotherapy together worked better than chemotherapy alone for ovarian cancer that had come back
If continuing cediranib after chemotherapy was beneficial
More about the side effects

Summary of results

The researchers found that taking cediranib alongside chemotherapy and continuing to take it afterwards extended the length of time before the cancer started to grow again by 3 months.

The trial recruited 456 women with ovarian cancer. Their average age was 62 and they all had cancer that had come back, but not for at least 6 months after finishing chemotherapy that included a platinum drug.

They were put into 1 of 3 groups at random. Neither the women taking part, nor their doctors knew which group they were in. This is called a double blind trial.

Everybody had more platinum chemotherapy. They also had one of the following

Cediranib during chemotherapy and then on its own for up to 18 months after finishing chemotherapy
Cediranib during chemotherapy and then a dummy drug (placebo ) for up to 18 months after finishing chemotherapy
A dummy drug during and after chemotherapy

The trial team looked at the average length of time women lived without signs of their cancer getting worse. Researchers call this progression free survival. They found it was

Just under 12 ½ months for women who had cediranib alongside chemotherapy and afterwards
Just under 9 ½ months for women who had the dummy drug alongside chemotherapy

Having cediranib alongside chemotherapy and then stopping it led to an improvement midway between the other 2 groups.

They also looked at the average length of time women lived after joining the trial. Researchers call this overall survival. The women who continued to take cediranib after finishing chemotherapy lived for about 3 months longer than women in the other 2 groups who had the dummy drug.

Side effects were more common in the group of women who took cediranib during and after chemotherapy. They included

High blood pressure
Tiredness (fatigue)
Diarrhoea
Feeling sick
A drop in thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism )
Hoarse voice

The trial team concluded that having cediranib alongside chemotherapy and continuing it afterwards improved progression free survival and overall survival.

We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed Open a glossary item ) but may not have been published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.