At the 25th annual Meeting of the Society or Urologic Oncology, Daniel J. George, MD, presented a session on real-world treatment and clinical outcomes for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with olaparib. George co-chairs the Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers at the Duke Cancer Institute.
Olaparib, a targeted therapy used to treat prostate cancer, showed significant benefits in patients with homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene mutations, as demonstrated in the PROfound clinical trial. Olaparib is a poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, a type of drug that prevents cancer cells from repairing themselves by halting the activity of enzymes that restore DNA.
This trial revealed that patients receiving olaparib monotherapy had longer treatment duration, improved progression-free survival, and improved overall survival compared to those on other therapies. This study provided the first look at how PARP inhibitors perform in prostate cancer patients.
The study used data from the ConcertAI Oncology Dataset to identify mCRPC patients with HRR mutations. Key findings showed 41% of patients in the dataset had undergone genetic testing, and about 20% of those patients had the HRR mutation. George said an emphasis on more genetic testing would help identify patients who could potentially benefit from this intervention.
“As more studies with PARP inhibitors in earlier prostate cancer settings show clinical benefit, it will be even more imperative that we test metastatic prostate cancer patients for genetic alterations even before they progress.”
This is the first real world evidence study to examine how Olaparib effects prostate cancer patients, and George said more research and studies are underway. Recent data shows early indications that these drugs are not just effective treatment options for prostate cancer with HRR gene mutations , but all mCRPC patients. These drugs are now also involved in studies involving patients with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer to determine their effectiveness when combined with other hormonal therapies.
"Real world evidence provides important and unique practice insights as to how everyday patients can tolerate and benefit from new therapies.”