From Denise Mann
HealthDay reporter
THURSDAY, March 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Women with advanced ovarian cancer often face dismal statistics, with less than half surviving five years from their diagnosis. However, a new study suggests that so-called “maintenance therapy” with a targeted cancer drug can add years to the lives of some patients.
In results described as “noteworthy” by some experts, the study showed that women with advanced ovarian cancer linked to the BRCA gene were much more likely to be alive and have no evidence of their cancer returning in five years occur when they receive Lynparza (olaparib). , a targeted cancer therapy known as a PARP inhibitor.
This class of drugs blocks an enzyme called PARP, which cancer cells need to repair damage to their genetic material, and the blockage causes cancer cells to die. There are two other PARP inhibitors that are approved for treating ovarian cancer, Zejula (niraparib) and Rubraca (rucaparib).
PARP inhibitors are particularly effective against cancer associated with BRCA genes. Often thought of as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genesare responsible for about 25% of ovarian cancer cases.
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The new study provides five-year follow-up data from a clinical trial in women with BRCA-positive advanced ovarian cancer who received Lynparza for two years after completing their initial treatment.
Fortunately, the survival benefits lasted five years regardless of how aggressive the cancers were, said study author Dr. William Bradley, a gynecological oncologist at Froedtert Health and Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
It is too early to use the word healing, but that might be the way to go, he added. “Lynparza maintenance therapy really should be considered the standard of care for BRCA-positive advanced ovarian cancer,” Bradley said.
The study included 391 women with a BRCA mutation and advanced ovarian cancer who had completed chemotherapy; 260 received Lynparza and 131 received a placebo. Compared to women who took the placebo pill, more than twice as many women who received Lynparza lived without their cancer getting worse five years after the start of the study. The study was funded by Lynparza manufacturer AstraZeneca.
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“This is really good news,” said Bradley. “Women enjoyed the benefits for the next three years without therapy.”
Dr. Konstantin Zakashansky, director of gynecological oncology at Mount Sinai West in New York City, called the new results “quite remarkable,” and said the new results may well resemble a cure for these women.
“Even after five years there is still a distinct benefit,” said Zakashansky, who was not involved in the study. “We have never seen anything like this in ovarian cancer.”
PARP inhibitors have their share of side effects, including the risk of blood abnormalities that can make women more prone to infection or fatigue, but follow-up data showed these didn’t get worse over time, the researchers said. “The security signal has not advanced, nor has it become threatening,” Bradley said.
These women are now being persecuted indefinitely, he added.
The new results suggest that maintenance therapy with Lynparza has lasting effects in women with BRCA-positive advanced ovarian cancer, and time will answer any remaining questions, said Dr. Deborah Armstrong, Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore. She was not involved in the new study.
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“Is it possible that two years of therapy with this drug will nip cancer cells in the bud or will they just be calmed down and come back later?” Armstrong asked.
Another point is that the new drug may not be expensive for some women, she said. “It’s extremely expensive, $ 10,000 to $ 12,000 a month, and even people with really good insurance have high deductibles.”
The results were presented at the annual virtual meeting of the Society for Gynecological Oncology from March 19-25. Results presented at medical meetings are tentative until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition offers more on ovarian cancer treatment options.
SOURCES: William Bradley, MD, gynecological oncologist, Froedtert Health and Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Deborah K. Armstrong, MD, Professor, Oncology, Professor, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore; Konstantin Zakashansky, MD, Director, Gynecological Oncology, Mount Sinai West, and Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City; Society for Gynecological Oncology, virtual annual meeting; 19.-25. March 2021
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