Latest PARP study

[Rosebine2]

Anyone read this? What does it mean for OC patients. Sorry cant link but something called ASCO, have published the report.

It seems to suggest Parps may not have a beneficial effect in Non BRCA and could affect overall survival rates. Worrying, perhaps Ovacome Support can enlighten ?

[OvacomeSupport Partner My Ovacome Team]

Hello Rosebine2,

Thank you very much for your message. We are looking into getting some more information about this and we will share this with you as soon as we have an update.

In the meantime, please do carry on talking any medication as prescribed and if you have any concerns, please contact your clinical team for advice about your own individual situation.

If you would like to speak with a member of the Ovacome support service team, you can contact us by calling 0800 008 7054 or by emailing [e-mail]. All of our support services are available Monday – Friday 10am -5pm

Best wishes,

Cathryn

Ovacome Support

[delia2]

Hi. I’m glad you asked this. I read it too. There are three studies questioning overall survival for different specific groups. The upshot is we need to discuss with our oncologists.

[OvacomeSupport Partner My Ovacome Team]

Hello Rosebine2,

We just wanted to reassure you that we haven’t forgotten about your questions.

We are still working on getting all the information we need to put together a full answer around what the ASCO report means for people with ovarian cancer in the UK.

We have received responses from all three PARP inhibitor manufacturers, and are in conversation with clinicians also so we can get a full picture.

We are putting together a response with all this information, but in the meantime please be reassured that there are no changes to recommendations in the UK.

We will be posting a more detailed response as soon as possible. We thank you for your patience while we make sure our answer to your questions is as full and accurate as possible.

Best wishes,

Jo- Ovacome support

[Rosebine2 in reply to OvacomeSupport]

Thanks Jo

[OvacomeSupport Partner My Ovacome Team]

Dear Rosebine2

Thank you for your patience while we have looked into your queries about ASCO’s (American Society of Clinical Oncology) rapid recommendation update on the use of PARP inhibitors in the management of ovarian cancer. If anyone would like to view these in full, they can be found on the ASCO website here: ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.12... . ASCO are a US-based organisation representing US physicians of all oncology sub-specialties, such as gynaecology.

We have looked into the changes to the ASCO recommendations and their potential significance for the Ovacome community.

Before we provide more detail it is important to highlight three main points:

- The ASCO recommendations apply to the US and do not impact the current guidelines for PARP inhibitors in the UK.

- The ASCO recommendations looked at PARP inhibitors both as maintenance treatment after chemotherapy and as a line of treatment given alone as monotherapy.

- As PARP inhibitors are only used as a maintenance treatment to be given after chemotherapy in the U.K, not all the recommendations are relevant for our U.K based members.

You asked about PARPs not being beneficial for those without a BRCA mutation and affecting overall survival. Within research studies, overall survival (OS) refers to how long people live after treatment whilst progression free survival (PFS) refers to the time between treatment aimed at shrinking or controlling cancer, and signs that it has started to grow again.

The ASCO recommendations review data about overall survival for non-BRCA carriers in the setting of second-line or more maintenance treatment. ASCO recommend that ‘Maintenance treatment with niraparib for patients without germline or somatic BRCA mutation should weigh potential progression free survival benefit against possible overall decrement’. Here we understand overall decrement to mean a reduction in overall survival. The research behind these recommendation changes is linked to the ENGOT 016 NOVA study. The data from this study is currently still under review. This would be a highly individual decision and we would always recommend that people discuss this with their clinical team for expert medical advice on their personal circumstances.

If anyone would like to learn more about the recommendation that rucaparib should no longer be used as third-line treatment for cancers of the ovary, fallopian tubes or peritoneum with a BRCA mutation in patients whose cancer has come back after at least two platinum-based chemotherapies and who cannot have further platinum-based therapy please visit: ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/... Please note, this would be monotherapy, not maintenance which is how rucaparib is prescribed in the UK. Additionally, in the UK you need to be platinum sensitive for a PARP inhibitor to be prescribed, and this recommendation is for those who no longer have platinum treatment.

As mentioned above, we encourage anyone who has questions about their own individual circumstances to speak with their oncologist for personalised clinical guidance. We want to highlight that it’s really important in the meantime to continue taking any medication as prescribed.

If anyone would like to talk further about this, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. You can message us through the forum, email us via [e-mail] or call our support line on 0800 008 7054. We’re here Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm to help with queries, provide information resources, or just have a friendly chat about anything that may be on your mind.

Best wishes

Annie – Ovacome support