Study: Maintenance Therapy With Olaparib Extends Survival By Over 1 Year in Patients With Relapsed Ovarian Cancer, BRCA Mutation

In a recent study that will be presented at the virtual 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, researchers found that maintenance therapy with the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) extended overall survival (OS) by nearly 13 months (12.9) compared with a placebo (hazard ratio [HR] 0.30) in women with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer with BRCA 1 or 2 mutations.

“A median (OS) improvement of nearly 13 months is impressive in ovarian cancer and brings a substantial benefit to our patients,” said lead author Andres Poveda, MD, of Initia Oncology, Hospital Quironsalud, in a press release. “With the addition of overall survival data, this study helps usher in a new era of personalized medicine for women with this difficult-to-treat cancer.”

In this randomized phase 3 SOLO-2 trial, 196 patients with relapsed BRCA-related ovarian cancer responding to platinum-based chemotherapy received olaparib tablets, while 99 patients received the placebo. All patients participating in the trial had previously received at least 2 lines of chemotherapy and had cancer that responded to platinum-based chemotherapy.

At 5 years follow up, the data showed that the OS for women on olaparib was 42.1%, while the placebo OS was 33.2%.

At 65 months, the OS for patients who received olaparib was 28.3%, while the OS for patients who received a placebo was 12.8%. This demonstrated that patients who received olaparib during the period between disease response and progression had a 26% reduced risk of death, according to the study. Additionally, 38.4% of patients in the placebo group were ultimately treated with olaparib.

Although BRCA mutations are known to be strong targets for treatment with PARP inhibitors, this is the first study with olaparib tablets that provides long-term follow-up and final OS data for a PARP inhibitor in this group of patients.

“This study confirms that the PARP inhibitor olaparib should be the standard maintenance therapy for patients with BRCA-related relapsed ovarian cancer responding to platinum-based chemotherapy—a significant advance for women with a cancer that has a historically poor prognosis,” said Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FASP, FSCT, FASCO, the ASCO chief medical officer and executive vice president, in a press release.

REFERENCES

• Maintenance Therapy With PARP Inhibitor Olaparib Extends Survival By Over 1 Year in Patients With Relapsed Ovarian Cancer and BRCA Mutation [news release]. Alexandria, VA: ASCO, May 13, 2020. https://www.asco.org/about-asco/press-center/news-releases/maintenance-therapy-parp-inhibitor-olaparib-extends-survival. Accessed May 29, 2020.
• Poveda A, Floquet A, Ledermann JA, et al. Final overall survival (OS) results from SOLO2/ENGOT-ov21: A phase III trial assessing maintenance olaparib in patients (pts) with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer and a BRCA mutation [ASCO abstract 6002]. J Clin Oncol. 2020;38(suppl). doi: 10.1200/JCO.2020.38.15_suppl.6002.