Efficacy Multicentre Trial of ImmunoTherapy Vaccination With Abagovomab to Treat Ovarian Cancer Patients

Standard initial treatment of ovarian cancer patients includes both surgery and chemotherapy which in the vast majority of cases achieves the disappearance of ovarian cancer lesions. This status, called "clinical remission" which means having no evidence of cancer on CT scan or physical examination needs to be carefully follow up in order to confirm the maintenance of the remission status or to early detect if the cancer grows again and then start a new chemotherapy. At present, no approved therapies exist for the maintenance treatment of patients who achieved the clinical remission. This trial aims to evaluate if the repeated vaccination with Abagovomab creates an immunoresponse which is able to fight the cancer cells thus keeping the remission status as long as possible and help patients live disease-free and longer. Patients who achieve the remission status after chemotherapy will be screened for study participation and if they meet the criteria for inclusion they will start to receive a single subcutaneous injection every 2 weeks (for the first 4 doses - induction phase) and then every 4 weeks (maintenance phase). The duration of treatment is up to approximately 4 years or it will be stopped in case relapse occurs. In order to evaluate the real benefit of vaccination, the experimental treatment includes Abagovomab (the active drug) or placebo (the vehicle only, without drug), with a double chance to receive Abagovomab. Assignment of Abagovomab or placebo will be done by a computerised system and nobody in the study will know which treatment has been allocated until study end. Patients will be visited every 4 weeks and will undergo CT scan of pelvis and abdomen every 12 weeks in order to confirm the remission status or to early detect if relapse eventually occurs. This will be done in blind condition (i.e. without being aware which treatment the patient is going to receive) for the first part of the study which is expected to last four years. After then the overall status of patient will continue to be monitored by phone contact for additional five years.