Every year in worldwide, about 200,000 women (about 60,000 in Europe and 20,000 in the US) contract a malignant tumour of the ovaries, making cancer of the ovary (medically: ovarian carcinoma) the sixth-most common malignant disorder in women.
Many patients with cancer of the ovary suffer a relapse, a so-called recurrence, within one to two years despite an apparently successful treatment with surgery and chemotherapy that led to a complete removal of the tumour.
Until now, there was no scientifically-based therapy for the prevention of this possible relapse of the ovarian cancer. If a relapse occurs, then therapeutic possibilities are limited and the disease is, in most cases, considered no longer curable.
A completely new therapeutic approach is a vaccination to prevent a relapse.
The active substance Abagovomab is a monoclonal antibody that can trigger the immune system to produce tumour-specific antibodies.
MIMOSA study is a demanding multinational trial: about 900 women with ovarian cancer can be included in the study that is being conducted worldwide in 147 clinics. Its purpose is to verify the efficacy and safety of the vaccination with Abagovomab for the prevention or delay of recurrences of the disease and to test to what extent the period of remission and overall survival can be prolonged.