Olaparib for Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Przemyslaw W. Twardowski, M.D., and his colleagues, have published a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine, which demonstrates significant benefit of therapy with olaparib (PARP inhibitor) in patients with advanced prostate cancer who harbor certain mutations of DNA repair system and who failed standard treatments. Based on the results of that study on 5/19/2020 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval of olaparib, providing a valuable treatment option for about 25% of patients with advanced prostate cancer with certain mutations of DNA repair. These mutations can be detected by performing an analysis of a patient’s cancer specimen and sometimes also on a specialized blood test.