Feasibility of the Combination of Chemotherapy (Carbo/Caelyx or Carbo/Doxorubicin) With Tocilizumab (mAb IL-6R) and Peg-Intron in Patients With Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

The purpose of this interventional study is to determine the feasibility to combine standard chemotherapy (Carbo/Caelyx or doxorubicin) for recurrent ovarian cancer with immunotherapy (Tocilizumab and Peg-Intron). This study combines standard chemotherapy Carboplatin-Caelyx or doxorubicin with a monoclonal antibody against IL-6R (tocilizumab). High IL-6 levels correlate with poor prognosis and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer patients. In cases of chemoresistant ovarian cancer, therefore, modulation of the IL-6 pathway, by blocking the IL-6 receptor, may represent a promising strategy to both abolish drug resistance and amplify host immunity in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. Blockade of the IL-6/IL-6R pathway may enhance immunogenic cell death and restore local normal DC maturation. In addition, the use of interferon-alpha (Peg-Intron) allows the full maturation of DC, thereby enhancing the anti-tumor response.