Researchers At ESMO Asia-Pacific 2019 Reveal That Olaparib Used To Treat Breast Cancer Is Also Effective in Prostate Tumors
Source: Thailand Medical News Nov 25, 2019 4 years, 11 months, 4 weeks, 14 hours, 13 minutes ago
Lynparza or
Olaparib, is a pharmacological inhibitor of the enzyme PARP (poly ADP Ribose polymerase or PARP) which is required for cancer cell DNA repair. In the presence of certain mutations like BRCA1 and BRCA2,
Olaparib kills cancer cells.
Olaparib is typically used to treat women suffering from ovarian and breast cancers, has shown promising results when administered to men in whom
prostate cancer had spread to other organs too (metastatic cancer)
The drug produced by Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical major
AstraZeneca, recently underwent clinical trials and was found efficacious in treating
prostate cancer patients, according to initial results of the clinical trials presented at the recent European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia Congress 2019, that was held in Singapore from November 22-24.
Currently,
prostate cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide among men with a burden of 365,000 men dying annually, as per the Global Cancer registry in 2018. It's seen among men of the age group 42-60 years.
Olaparib, is a pharmacological inhibitor of the enzyme PARP (poly ADP Ribose polymerase or PARP) which is required for cancer cell DNA repair. In the presence of certain mutations like BRCA1 and BRCA2,
Olaparib kills cancer cells.
The BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human tumor suppressor genes which are responsible for repairing the damaged DNA.
The clinical trials of "
Olaparib in
Prostate Cancer: phase-3 PROfound trial" conducted globally between 2015-18 has now proven that the drug could be used for prostate cancer patients who faced mutations in these genes.
"
Olaparib which is used in treating breast and ovarian cancers, has now successfully shown benefit in men with certain metastatic
prostate cancer having particular gene mutations." commented Dr Shaheen Sandhu in a interview with
Thailand Medical News. Dr Sandhu is a medical oncologist from the University of Melbourne, who presented the study at ESMO Asia 2019.
Olaparib is a significant milestone for women globally, living with certain forms of ovarian and breast cancer, which has historically been among difficult-to-treat diseases. The positive Phase III trial results from the PROfound study now represents the potential for a new, oral targeted treatment option for specific prostate cancer patients as well."
Numerous oncologists from Asian countries who congregated at the three day international cancer congress in Singapore from November 22-24 discussed and exchanged views on innovation, technology intervention, drug development on cancer care. Immunotherapy, the novel regiment of cancer treatment used alone or in combination with chemotherapy and radiation, was the focus of many discussions.
Immunotherapy ie boosting the immune cells of the body to fight cancer cells through immunotherapy was projected as the road ahead in treating different kinds of
dmedical.news/articles/cancer">cancers including lung, ovarian cancers.
Dr Ravindran Kanesvaran, medical oncologist, chair of ESMO Asia- Pacific Public Policy Committee told
Thailand Medical News that the immunotherapy alone may not be very effective in cancer treatment. "In combination of chemotherapy and targeted treatment, immunotherapy has been widely used. There is scope for further research," he said.
