Ovarian cancer is the cancer that forms in tissues of the ovary (one of a pair of female reproductive glands in which the ova, or eggs, are formed). Most ovarian cancers are either ovarian epithelial carcinomas (cancer that begins in the cells on the surface of the ovary) or malignant germ cell tumors (cancer that begins in egg cells). Estimated new cases and deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States in 2008: New cases: 21,650   Deaths: 15,520

Several clinical trials have shown that intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy, in which anticancer drugs are delivered directly into the abdomen, extends survival for women with ovarian cancer compared to chemotherapy delivered only by vein (IV). In the most recent of these clinical trials, women who received a combination of IP and IV chemotherapy lived an average of 16 months longer than women who received only IV chemotherapy. These and other results prompted the National Cancer Institute to release a clinical announcement encouraging doctors to use the combined IP/IV approach when initially treating women with advanced ovarian cancer.

Women with ovarian cancer treated with a combination of intraperitoneal (IP) and intravenous (IV) chemotherapy reported more side effects and a lower quality of life during their treatment compared to women receiving IV chemotherapy only. However, at the end of one year only neurological symptoms (such as tingling in the hands and feet) remained worse for the IV/IP chemotherapy group; otherwise, the women’s quality of life was about the same.

Chikujee's Nanobindi based NB-PTXL-OC and NB-DTXL-OC is expected to drastically reduce or eliminate these side effects and has a potential to be the treatment of choice for the ovarian cancer.