CENTERVILLE – Premier Health is the first health system in the United States to offer a new Phase III study for women who have been newly diagnosed with Stage III or IV BRCA negative ovarian cancer.
This clinical trial, KEYLYNK-001, examines how the addition of a cancer immunotherapy drug, Keytruda, and an oral prescription medication known as a PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, to standard chemotherapy affect progression-free survival (living with a disease without it worsening) and overall survival.
“There is a growing body of data on the use of PARP inhibitors and immunotherapy in ovarian cancer with positive results,” said Michael Guy, MD, a board-certified gynecologic oncologist at Premier Gynecologic Oncology. “This new Phase III clinical trial will provide important insights in the use of these newer medications to improve outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed disease. We are proud to offer this exceptional study to our patients in the Miami Valley and honored to be the first in the country to provide such trials.”
Research has shown that the majority of women diagnosed with advanced stage ovarian cancer have a 39 percent five-year survival rate. Unfortunately, most women will die of the disease.
In the trial, all study subjects will receive six cycles of standard chemotherapy with or without Keytruda. Patients also undergo surgery for their cancer at the discretion of a physician during this initial phase. After the first six cycles, patients will be randomly assigned for up to two years to one of three arms of the study: Keytruda and a Lynparza pill; Keytruda and a Lynparza placebo; or Keytruda and Lynparza placebos.
The Phase III study is another way that Premier Health’s comprehensive cancer care team offers patients and their families compassionate, specialized care. Located at Miami Valley Hospital South, the physicians at Premier Gynecologic Oncology provide treatment for women with cancer and treatment-related symptoms, complex pelvic surgical problems, gynecologic cancers, and palliative care.
This study will eventually be offered at 50 locations across the United States. Premier Health is the country’s first and only site currently offering this trial.
