Women with BRCA-mutated relapsed serous ovarian cancer who received maintenance therapy after platinum-based chemotherapy prolonged their progression-free survival (PFS) by almost 7 months, according to results of a study presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting (June 2-6, 2017; Chicago, IL).
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Additionally, maintenance therapy had no negative impact on quality of life (QoL) in this population, which may result in better adherence rates.
Median PFS after chemotherapy in platinum-sensitive relapsed serous ovarian cancer is less than 6 months in most patients. Previous studies have shown that maintenance therapy with olaparib given after response to chemotherapy results in improved PFS for patients with BRCA-mutated disease, but little is known about the health-related QoL or patient-centered benefits associated with potentially prolonged PFS.
Eric Pujade-Lauraine, MD, PhD, Women Cancers and Clinical Research Department, Hôpitaux Universitaires (Paris, France), and colleagues evaluated patients’ time to disease progression, QoL, time without symptoms of disease or toxicity, and safety profile of olaparib as a maintenance therapy in BRCA-mutated relapsed serous ovarian cancer. Researchers randomized 295 patients to receive olaparib or placebo and observed them for up to 27 months after treatment initiation.
All patients had received platinum-based chemotherapy at least twice and had exhibited partial or complete response to their most recent treatment.
Results of the study showed that PFS was an average of 13.96 months in the olaparib group, compared with 7.28 months in the placebo group. Time without symptoms of disease or toxicity was an average of 6.29 months longer in the olaparib group (13.5 months) than in the placebo group (7.21 months).
Women in the olaparib group reported a similar QoL as those receiving placebo on rating scales that assessed function, physical well-being, and symptoms.
“This may mean patients feel more able to adhere to maintenance treatment,” commented Dr Pujade-Lauraine in his presentation. “This contrasts with what we have seen in the past with chemotherapy where the price of longer progression-free survival is often reduced quality of life, leading to poor adherence to treatment.”
Severe or life-threatening adverse events were reported in 36.9% of the olaparib group and in 18.2% of the placebo group.—Zachary Bessette
