Dr. O'Shaughnessy on Negative TNBC Iniparib Results

Joyce A. O'Shaughnessy, MD, Breast Cancer Research, Baylor Sammons Cancer Center in Dallas, TX, describes that iniparib's mechanism of action (MOA) is still under intensive study and has been under examination since the drug was first discovered.

Despite its recent negative triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) trial results O'Shaughnessy believes iniparib will become interesting once again. She describes that in a physiological concentration you do no inhibit PARP but in higher concentrations inhibition does occur. She believes that once the MOA is fully understood more options will be available.

Other trials are currently underway examining iniparib; options are becoming clear, such as its single agent use in BRCA2 mutated pancreatic cancer. It is still being investigated in TNBC, which O'Shaughnessy believes is still too broad of a category. A subset of patients in the TNBC trial demonstrated a benefit to the drug; trials still need to be conducting to pinpoint this subset of patients.