• Developed in Partnership with Healthcare Professionals and Patients, Let’s Talk About LGSOC Provides Information Related to the Biology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Patient Experience

BOSTON / Nov 13, 2023 / Business Wire / Verastem Oncology, (Nasdaq: VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing new medicines for patients with cancer, today announced the launch of the new healthcare professional component of Let’s Talk About LGSOC, designed to support clinicians in the diagnosis and management of low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC). Let’s Talk About LGSOC provides detailed information about the unique clinical, histopathological, and molecular features of LGSOC, current National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) clinical practice guidelines and additional medical and scientific information and resources.

LGSOC of the ovary, fallopian tubes, and peritoneum is a rare tumor that commonly affects younger women, with a median age of diagnosis between 45-55 years. For many patients, LGSOC symptoms and treatment side effects have a long-lasting impact on physical and mental health. To date, limited treatment options are available for LGSOC and no treatments have yet been approved by regulatory authorities specifically for the treatment of LGSOC with doctors and patients often resorting to using treatments that may have originally been developed for other tumors.

“LGSOC has only recently been classified as a separate disease as compared to the more common high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) with different epidemiology, pathology, clinical presentation, and outcomes. Furthermore, the fact that it is rare and disproportionally affects younger women than its high-grade counterpart means we need to ensure the healthcare community is aware that this form of ovarian cancer can impact women at any age and the management approach is not the same as for other ovarian cancers,” said Premal Thaker, MD, David and Lynn Mutch Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine. “Let’s Talk About LGSOC has already become a valuable information hub for patients and I believe this LGSOC specific website will be a tremendous resource for healthcare professionals as we seek to provide better care for our patients.”

LGSOC represents approximately 10% of all ovarian cancers with an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 patients diagnosed each year with more than 6,000 patients living with its impact in the United States and 80,000 worldwide. LGSOC is primarily driven by the RAS/MAPK pathway, a key contributor to tumor development and progression. The majority of patients with LGSOC are diagnosed with advanced stage disease that has spread beyond its primary site. It is relatively resistant to chemotherapy and highly recurrent. More than eighty percent of people with LGSOC will have their cancer come back after remission.

“At Verastem, we are committed to providing opportunities for more education about LGSOC in partnership with the physician and patient community,” said Louis Denis, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Verastem Oncology. “In addition to our work to help deliver new innovative treatment options for LGSOC, we aim to raise awareness of this distinct and different form of ovarian cancer that is under- researched and often misunderstood. We believe the addition of this new healthcare professional component to Let’s Talk About LGSOC will complement the progress we are making with the patient initiative launched earlier this year and support better care for women with LGSOC.”

For more information about the Let’s Talk About LGSOC, please visit the healthcare professional site at www.LetsTalkAboutLGSOC.com/hcp and www.LetsTalkAboutLGSOC.com for the patient site.

About Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (LGSOC)

LGSOC is a highly recurrent, chemotherapy-resistant cancer, associated with slow tumor growth and high mortality rate. An estimated 6,000 women in the U.S. and 80,000 worldwide are living with this disease. LGSOC is known to be driven by the RAS/MAPK pathway in approximately 70% of patients. Mutations in the KRAS gene are present in 30% of cases of LGSOC. LGSOC is most often diagnosed in women between the ages of 45-55 years and has a median survival of approximately ten years. The majority of patients experience severe pain and complications as the disease progresses. There are no FDA approved medicines and limited treatment options currently available.

About Verastem Oncology

Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM) is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new medicines to improve the lives of patients diagnosed with cancer. Our pipeline is focused on novel small molecule drugs that inhibit critical signaling pathways in cancer that promote cancer cell survival and tumor growth, including RAF/MEK inhibition and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibition. For more information, please visit www.verastem.com.