Ovarian cancer (OC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide among women, and, in developed countries, it is the leading cause of mortality among gynecological malignancies. With an overall cure rate of <40% across all stages, it comprises a variety of tumors with different histopathological features and biological behavior. Nowadays, OC is considered a general term that designates a group of molecularly and etiologically distinct diseases that share an anatomical location. Approximately 70-80% of patients with OC will relapse after first-line chemotherapy, and the majority of them will eventually die of chemotherapy-resistant disease. Until now, the management of relapsed OC remains an unmet medical need. Therapy rather depends on tumor stage and grade than on histological type, but there is growing evidence that, as epithelial OC is a heterogeneous disease, it needs a tailored approach based on the underlying molecular genetic changes. Several phase III studies investigating targeted therapies are underway, and a more individual approach for treating OC will be selected in the future. The purpose of this paper was to review the literature in order to highlight available data emerging from trials and to evaluate efficacy and safety of molecularly targeted drugs in OC.

The MTD of everolimus in combination with cisplatin and radiotherapy has been defined as 5 mg/day. The data regarding safety and response rates support further studies.

The treatment of endometrial cancer (EC) is challenging. There is no standard of care for patients who progressed after carboplatin and paclitaxel (CT) and all available drugs show a small response and poor long-term survival in this scenario. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity profile of palliative doxorubicin after progression to CT therapy in advanced or recurrent EC. A retrospective review of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute database between 2009 and 2013 was performed, and all patients with recurrent and advanced EC treated with palliative doxorubicin after progression on CT were included. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rates as well as toxicity were evaluated. A total of 33 patients were enrolled, with a median age of 65.7 years. Objective responses were documented in 12.1% (3.0% of complete responses and 9.1% of partial responses). The median PFS was 4.4 months, and the median OS was 8.1 months for patients exposed to doxorubicin. The most common adverse event was anemia observed in 60.6% of patients. This retrospective study suggests that doxorubicin has a modest activity in patients with advanced or recurrent EC after treatment with CT.