The primary outcome was the number of rapid drug desensitizations that were free from hypersensitivity reactions. In a secondary analysis, the researchers compared results of chemotherapy skin tests taken before and after the trial.
Of the five patients included in the study, four were female, received carboplatin, and had a skin tests, while the fifth patient was male, received rituximab, and did not receive a skin test.
In an intention-to-treat approach, Dr. Hong and his colleagues reported that 33% of all rapid drug desensitizations for omalizumab had no reaction.
In the poster, the researchers noted that these data could be significant because the 95% confidence interval for nonreactivity on omalizumab ranged from 11% to 98%.
“This is a unique situation,” Dr. Hong said in an interview. Because ovarian cancer diagnoses tend to come later in the disease course, patients often can receive extended chemotherapy regimens to treat disease metastases.