Treatment for chemotherapy resistant ovary cancer is approved

There is still no definition of the inclusion of Elahere in the list of drugs of ANS (National Agency of Complementary Health) or SUS. That is, health plans are not yet required to cover treatment and is not yet available in the public network.

How it works

The active ingredient, mirvetuximab soravtansin, is a monoclonal antibody –That is, a laboratory -produced protein that “imitates” our defense cells and fights threats such as cancer. The substance binds to alpha folate receptors (vitamin B9) on the cancer surface and releases well in the “gateway” to chemotherapy DM4.

That is, it is a kind of Trojan horse, leading the substance capable of interfering with the ability to grow and multiply from cancer. Thus, the duo “kills” the tumor.

The FDA based its approval in the MiraSol clinical study, which had 453 participants. Of this total, 227 received the new drug, while 226 underwent conventional therapy. Those who were treated with Elahere had a survival rate without progression of the disease of 5.62 months, while those who were chemotherapy lived, on average, 3.98 months without cancer advance.

The survival of patients with or without cancer was also significantly higher with the new medicine, about 16.46 months. In comparison, patients who only did chemotherapy survived an average of 12.75 months. The results were published in December 2023 in the renowned The New England Journal of Medicine.