A proof of concept for biomarker-guided targeted therapy against ovarian cancer based on patient-derived tumor xenografts.

Advanced ovarian cancers are a leading cause of cancer-related death in women and are currently treated with surgery and chemotherapy. This standard of care is often temporarily successful but exhibits a high rate of relapse after which treatment options are few. Here we investigate whether biomarker-guided use of multiple targeted therapies, including small molecules and antibody-drug conjugates, is a viable alternative. A panel of patient-derived ovarian cancer xenografts (PDX), similar in genetics and chemotherapy responsiveness to human tumors, was exposed to 21 mono and combination therapies. Three monotherapies and one combination were found to be active in different subsets of PDX. Analysis of gene expression data identified biomarkers associated with responsiveness to each of the three targeted therapies, none of which directly inhibits an oncogenic driver. While no single treatment had as high a response rate as chemotherapy, nearly 90% of PDX were eligible for and responded to at least one biomarker-guided treatment, including tumors resistant to standard chemotherapy. The distribution of biomarker positivity in TCGA data suggests the potential for a similar precision approach in human patients.