AstraZeneca and MSD’s Lynparza improved progression-free survival by 70% compared to placebo in BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer patients who were in complete or partial response following first-line standard platinum-based chemotherapy, data presented at ESMO has revealed.
At 41 months of follow-up, the median PFS for patients treated with Lynparza was not reached compared to 13.8 months for patients treated with placebo. Of those receiving Lynparza, 60.4 percent remained progression-free at 36 months, compared to 26.9 percent of women in the placebo arm.
Sean Bohen, executive vice president, Global Medicines Development and chief medical officer at AstraZeneca, said, “There is currently a significant unmet need in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer because 70 percent of women relapse within the first three years after their initial treatment. The remarkable results of the SOLO-1 trial, which showed that 60 percent of women with newly-diagnosed, advanced BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer remained progression-free at three years, highlight the potential of Lynparza as a first-line maintenance therapy in this setting.”
Kathleen Moore, co-principal investigator of the SOLO-1 trial and associate director, Stephenson Cancer Center at The University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, said, “Women with ovarian cancer are often diagnosed with advanced disease, which unfortunately is associated with poor long-term survival rates. The newly-diagnosed setting is our best opportunity to achieve a sustained remission, since once a patient’s ovarian cancer recurs, it is typically incurable. The SOLO-1 results demonstrate the potential of LYNPARZA maintenance therapy earlier in the treatment pathway and reinforce the importance of identifying a patient’s BRCA mutation status at the time of diagnosis – these results could change the way we treat women with advanced BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer.”
AstraZeneca and MSD are exploring additional trials in ovarian cancer, including the ongoing GINECO/ENGOTov25 Phase 3 trial, PAOLA-1. This trial is testing the effect of Lynparza in combination with bevacizumab as a maintenance treatment for patients with newly-diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer regardless of their BRCA status. Results are expected during the second half of 2019.
