Unlocking the potential of immunotherapy for ovarian cancer patients

Immunotherapy is a rapidly expanding and exciting area of medical research that has already produced extraordinary results in the treatment of cancer patients. It is also the focus of OCA's 14th International Forum on Ovarian Cancer, a scientific conference that brings together the world's leading ovarian cancer experts to discuss the latest thinking in ovarian cancer research and inspire the next breakthroughs for patients. 

Prof Iain McNeish, Director of the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre, and Dr Sarah Spear explain what immunotherapy is and the promise it holds to create better, kinder treatments for ovarian cancer patients - a promise we'll begin to unlock at September's HHMT. 

'Immunotherapy is simply using the body's immune system to attack cancer,' says Prof McNeish. 'It's very, very complicated - because inevitably the cancer's found lots of ways to get round the immune system - but holds the promise that we can get the human immune system to do our work for us rather than having to rely on chemicals', such as chemotherapy.

Ovarian Cancer Action has hosted HHMT for more than 30 years and has seen the new partnerships, ideas and thinking it inspired rippling across the wider research world. Now, we are excited to see clinicians, surgeons and scientists come together to explore the important question of how we can achieve meaningful responses to immunotherapies in patients with ovarian cancer.