An experimental drug olaparib, originally designed to treat breast cancer, is now to be tested in patients with advanced lung cancer (Press release Cancer Research UK, MAR 11, 2014, View Source [SID:1234500252]).
Olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, will be given after chemotherapy to patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to see if it delays the growth of their tumor. Around half of NSCLCs have faults in one of the ways they repair DNA damage. Research has shown that adding a PARP inhibitor makes it even harder for the cancer to repair this damage. Olaparib is also being tested in phase III trials for ovarian and stomach cancers.
The phase II trial will recruit over 100 people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer at 25 hospitals around the UK. It is funded by Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca through a National Cancer Research Network initiative and is being co-ordinated by Cancer Research UK’s Wales Cancer Trials Unit at Cardiff University and Velindre NHS Trust in Cardiff.