Dr. Liu on PARP Inhibitors in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, and director of clinical research for gynecologic oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the use of PARP inhibitors in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

All 3 PARP inhibitors—olaparib (Lynparza), niraparib (Zejula), and rucaparib (Rubraca)—are FDA-approved for use as maintenance therapy in patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Although these agents show benefit across all women with ovarian cancer, their effect is most pronounced in women with BRCA-mutated disease, says Liu.

The only trial to show a benefit with a PARP inhibitor in the upfront maintenance setting is the phase III SOLO-1 trial, in which investigators examined olaparib in women with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer. Notably, the study restricted treatment to 2 years in the absence of residual disease, says Liu; however, the benefit seems to extend well beyond that. Although the study showed a profound benefit in terms of progression-free survival with olaparib versus placebo, more mature data are needed to discern the agent’s impact on overall survival.