Dr. Mizrahi on Addition of PARP Inhibitors to Chemotherapy in Mutated Pancreatic Cancer

Jonathan Mizrahi, MD, fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the addition of veliparib to chemotherapy in BRCA1/2 or PALB2-mutated pancreatic cancer.

In a recent randomized phase 2 trial, investigators examined the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin with or without the PARP inhibitor in the frontline treatment of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas and a germline BRCA1/2 or PALB2 mutation, says Mizrahi.Investigators wanted to evaluate whether the addition of a PARP inhibitor to chemotherapy would improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in this patient population.

Unfortunately, the study showed no benefit with the addition of the PARP inhibitor to the chemotherapy doublet, but patients did have a good overall survival (OS). The median OS for those randomized to the doublet arm was 15.5 months and 16.4 months for those randomized to the triplet arm, which are favorable data for the frontline metastatic setting, says Mizrahi.

Patients with BRCA1/2 and PALB2 mutations do not inherently have a better prognosis than patients without those mutations. Instead, they do better when they are treated with platinum agents, concludes Mizrahi.