Ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutation benefit from tested drug
Ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutation benefit from tested drug
10 Jul 2014
A phase 2 clinical trial shows that an investigational drug (olaparib) increases progression-free survival in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer.
The trial was investigating maintenance monotherapy with this investigational oral poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent serous ovarian cancer.
Increased progression-free survival by almost 7 months
The results of a preplanned retrospective subgroup analysis showed that treatment with olaparib extended progression-free survival (PFS) by 6.9 months for patients with the BRCA mutation (11.2 months vs 4.3 months) compared to placebo.
There is currently no reliable screening method to detect ovarian cancer and symptoms often go unnoticed or are not thought to be serious. As a result, 70% of ovarian cancer cases are not diagnosed until the disease has spread beyond the ovaries.
“High-grade serous is the most common, and most aggressive, form of ovarian cancer, and currently patients with the condition face a poor prognosis and limited treatment options,” says Professor Jonathan Ledermann, M.D, Professor of Medical Oncology in the University College London Cancer Institute and lead olaparib trial investigator.
“These results demonstrate that olaparib significantly increased progression-free survival in ovarian cancer patients with the BRCA mutation, supporting its potential use as a targeted therapy in this population.”
Study details
The paper reports results of an interim analysis of overall survival and a retrospective, preplanned analysis of data by BRCA mutation status from a randomized, double-blind, phase 2 study that assessed maintenance treatment with olaparib 400 mg twice daily (capsules) versus placebo, in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent serous ovarian cancer who had received two or more platinum-based regimens and who had a partial or complete response to their most recent platinum-based regimen.
The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), analyzed for the overall population and by BRCA status. PFS in this setting, provides a meaningful evaluation of a treatment effect as it relates to tumor growth, tumor burden and disease progression.
A long PFS in the maintenance setting allows patients more time without chemotherapy treatment.
7% of patients experienced the most common grade 3 or worse events in the olabarib group: fatigue and anemia.
Serious adverse events were also reported in 18% of patients. Tolerability was similar in patients with mutated BRCA and the overall population.
"An unmet need"
“There is clearly an unmet need in the treatment of ovarian cancer and these data highlight the potential benefits that olaparib could bring to appropriate patients with the BRCA mutation,” said Dr Catriona McMahon, Medical and Healthcare Affairs Director, AstraZeneca UK and Ireland.
“Olaparib was discovered here in the UK and we are working closely with the regulatory authorities to ensure patient access should it be approved for use in Europe.”
These data formed the basis of a Marketing Authorization Application for olaparib to the European Medicines Agency on 27th September 2013.
If approved, olaparib has the potential to be a first-in-class PARP for patients with BRCA mutated platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer.
Source: eCancer News