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AstraZeneca and Merck Lynparza drug could be an important new tool in the battle to cure early-stage breast cancer, after data released before the biggest oncology conference of the year showed it significantly reduces rates of recurrence of patients with the BRCA genetic mutation.
David Fredrickson, executive vice president of oncology at AstraZeneca, said the company’s focus on “earlier and smarter interventions” helped drive the cure of many types of cancer. Pharmaceutical companies are expected to submit test data to regulators for approval of this condition.
The OlympiA study found that if Lynparza was taken above normal treatment (chemotherapy, surgery, and sometimes radiation therapy), it was estimated that it would reduce the likelihood of life-threatening recurrence within three years in a 42%. The study will be published in New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) this weekend.
“Overnight, the prognosis for these women goes from not having any therapy specifically targeted to their type of cancer, to having a therapy,” Fredrickson said.
D’AstraZeneca innovation in oncology in recent years it has helped to change the actions of the Anglo-Swedish pharmacist. In the first quarter, oncology sales of drugs including Lynparza, Tagrisso and Imfinzi 20 percent increase year after year. Merck, the American pharmaceutical company, has pioneered immunotherapy, which uses the immune system to target tumors, with its box office drug Keytruda.
Fredrickson warned that better screening was needed, especially because cancer diagnoses have fallen during the pandemic, to make the most of the therapies that work best when given earlier. In the UK, official figures show that stage 1 cancer diagnoses fell by about a third during the first months of the pandemic, compared to the same period last year.
“We have been very concerned about the collateral damage the pandemic has on the new rates of cancer diagnosis and testing,” he said.
Launched in 2014, Lynparza has already demonstrated success in treating later-stage breast cancer, which has spread and cannot be cured, and ovarian and pancreatic cancer. It is known as an eyelid inhibitor, aimed at a weakening of the cancer DNA repair system.
About 15% of breast cancer patients are the so-called triple negatives, with cancers not responding to other targeted therapies, and many of these have either of the two BRCA mutations, which affect the body’s ability to suppress tumors. .
Andrew Tutt, a professor at the Cancer Research Institute who chaired the steering committee that oversaw the trial, said BRCA mutation tests were typically used to determine the risks of developing cancer. But if this drug is approved for the disease, he said oncologists should use the diagnosis to select the right patients for the drug.
“This is a completely new way to use cancer genetics in a healing setting,” he said.
Lori J. Pierce, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said the results could have a “significant impact” on treatment decisions for this subgroup of patients.
“The results of OlympiA highlight the need for genetic testing for BRCA mutations in patients diagnosed with high-risk early-stage breast cancer,” he said.
Also at the ASCO conference, Novartis will share the results of a trial using a new type of targeted radiotherapy, known as radioligand, in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, which significantly improved survival rates when combined with a normal treatment.
Amgen will share data on the survival of its Lumakras cancer drug targeted at KRAS, formerly known as “Indestructible Target” – an oncogenic master switch that made the cells cancerous. Recently, the drug received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for patients with non-small cell lung cancer with a specific genetic mutation.
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