A new study have discovered that drug taken to treat Cushing’s Syndrome could also be used to extend the life of some ovarian cancer patients. Cushing’s Syndrome is a rare disorder caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of cortisol, often marked by rapid weight gain, especially in the face and neck; thin, easily bruised skin, and purple stretch marks.
Researchers in their findings published in The Lancet medical journal and presented at the 2026 annual general meeting of the Society of the Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) on women’s cancer, suggest that relacorilant, a pill currently used to treat Cushing’s Syndrome, could benefit patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
On average, patients with this treatment-resistant cancer only live for around one year to 18 months after diagnosis. Women are deemed to have it if their disease progresses within six months of having platinum-based chemotherapy – a standard treatment. Researchers studied data from 381 platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients and found those taking relacorilant were 35 percent less likely to die compared to those receiving usual care.
The study suggested that patients taking the pill lived for an average of 16 months, compared to 11.9 months for those who had usual care. The study authors said “these outcomes – a 35 percent reduction of the risk of death from any cause and a median overall survival improvement of 4.1 months-position relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel as a new standard treatment option for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.”
It comes as another study, also published in the Lancet and presented to SGO 2026, suggested pembrolizumab – an immunotherapy cancer drug – can improve survival odds among women with platinumresistant ovarian cancer. They examined data on 643 women and found that, on average, patients who took pembrolizumab, as well as usual care, lived for 17.7 months while those who had usual care alone survived for an average of 14 months.
The research team said the findings “support this regimen as a new standard of care.” According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 7,600 new ovarian cancer cases in the UK every year. It’s not known how many of those are platinumresistant.
