Dr. Tripathy on Impact of Olaparib Approval in BRCA-Positive Breast Cancer

Debu Tripathy, MD, professor and chairman, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the FDA approval of olaparib (Lynparza) for patients with BRCA-positive breast cancers and the impact it has had on clinical practice. Tripathy shared this insight in an interview with OncLive during the 35th Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference.

The FDA approved olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with germline BRCA-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have previously received chemotherapy in January 2018. Additionally, hormone receptor-positive patients should have prior endocrine therapy or not be considered appropriate for such treatment.

The approval is based on data of the phase III OlympiAD trial, in which olaparib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 42% and improved progression-free survival by 2.8 months compared with standard chemotherapy in previously treated patients with BRCA-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. This improvement was deemed to be of statistical significance.

OlympiAD included 302 patients with HER2-negative metastatic disease who harbored germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. It was conducted in 19 countries, spanning Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. Moreover, patients with metastatic disease were permitted to have received up to 2 prior lines of chemotherapy.

This is an important option for patients with breast cancer who are carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations, Tripathy concludes.

<<< View more from the 2018 Miami Breast Cancer Conference