Rucaparib Extends PFS in Ovarian Cancer

(February 3, 2017) Results from the ARIEL2 trial, funded in part by OCRFA’s grant to the Stand Up to Cancer Ovarian Cancer Dream Team, were recently published in The Lancet. The goal of the trial was to test if the efficacy of rucaparib, an oral PARP inhibitor, was dependent on the type of tumor mutation.

The international study participants, all of who had recurrent, platinum-sensitive, high grade ovarian carcinoma, were divided into 3 groups based on tumor mutation. The first included patients with BRCA mutations, the second group included those with BRCA wild-type and loss of heterozygosity high, or LOH high, and the third group with BRCA wild-type and LOH low. Each group was treated with oral rucaparib twice per day for as long as long as a patient’s health allowed.

Researchers concluded: “In patients with BRCA mutant or BRCA wild-type and LOH high platinum-sensitive ovarian carcinomas treated with rucaparib, progression-free survival was longer than in patients with BRCA wild-type LOH low carcinomas. Our results suggest that assessment of tumor LOH can be used to identify patients with BRCA wild-type platinum-sensitive ovarian cancers who might benefit from rucaparib. These results extend the potential usefulness of PARP inhibitors in the treatment setting beyond BRCA mutant tumors.”

Although part I of ARIEL2 is complete, part 2 is ongoing. You can visit clinicaltrials.gov, trial number NCT01891344, if you’re interested in learning about enrollment.