Dr. DiSilvestro on the Long-Term OS Benefit of Olaparib Maintenance in Ovarian Cancer

Paul A. DiSilvestro, MD, director, Gynecologic Oncology, the Program in Women’s Oncology, , New England Health System, division director, Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, discusses the long-term survival benefit of olaparib (Lynparza) maintenance in advanced BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer.

At the 2022 ESMO Congress, investigators presented a 7-year overall survival (OS) analysis of the phase 3 SOLO-1 trial (NCT01844986), which examined olaparib monotherapy vs placebo as maintenance for patients with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer following a response to first-line chemotherapy.

Patients who achieved a complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy were randomly assigned to olaparib maintenance or placebo, with treatment continuing for up to 2 years or until disease progression, DiSilvestro says. Although the primary end point of the trial was progression-free survival, and OS was a key secondary end point, DiSilvestro explains.

Although 7 years of follow-up have been conducted on SOLO-1, OS events have occurred in only 32.3% of patients in the olaparib arm, DiSilvestro continues. The 84-month OS rate in the olaparib arm was 67%, compared with 46.5% in the placebo arm. With a prespecified OS analysis planned to be conducted when OS data are 60% mature, investigators will need to wait a few more years to find the true OS benefit of olaparib; however, the OS benefit observed so far has been excellent for patients, DiSilvestro concludes.