ICARE Newsletter Winter 2017

Newly Approved PARP-Inhibitor (Rucaparib) to Treat BRCA Carriers with Ovarian Cancer

The FDA just approved another PARP inhibitor, rucaparib, for BRCA carriers with ovarian cancer who have already been treated with two or more chemotherapies. Among those with BRCA-mutant ovarian cancers, 54% had a partial or complete response to the drug with a median duration response of 9.2 months. The agency also approved a companion diagnostic test through Foundation Medicine, FoundationFocusTM which may be used in tandem. FoundationFocus CDxBRCA is a tissue-based test that detects tumor BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations (germline and/or somatic) in ovarian cancer.

What remains interesting is that despite the availability of the companion diagnostic test, FoundationFocus, this test may not be required to determine eligibility for the drug – in fact, those determined to have a germline mutation in BRCA1/2 through any commercial laboratory may be eligible to receive this drug.

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