Dr. Robertson on Olaparib for Serous Ovarian Cancer

Jane Robertson, MD, Global Product Vice President for olaparib at AstraZeneca, discusses a trial looking at olaparib for patients with serous ovarian cancer.

In the trial presented at the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, olaparib maintenance therapy was analyzed in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed serous ovarian cancer and a BRCA mutation.

Positive data in this space were previously reported at ASCO, Robertson notes. Now, researchers have looked back at patients with a BRCA mutation in that study and have found that olaparib demonstrated even better efficacy. Robertson says that there was an 82% reduction in the risk of disease progression and nearly a seven-month improvement in median progression-free survival.

This benefit, Robertson says, is maintained beyond the first disease progression and is turning into a trend towards overall survival benefit. The overall survival data is confounding though, as some patients in the placebo arm went on to receive another PARP inhibitor subsequently.

By looking at this subset, Robertson says, the benefit of olaparib is even more meaningful and helps point researchers in the right direction.

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