Niraparib Maintenance Therapy in Patients With Recurrent Ovarian Cancer After a Partial Response to the Last Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in the ENGOT-OV16/NOVA Trial

PURPOSEIn the ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01847274), maintenance therapy with niraparib, a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, prolonged progression-free survival in patients with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer who had a response to their last platinum-based chemotherapy. The objective of the study was to assess the clinical benefit and patient-reported outcomes in patients who had a partial response (PR) and complete response (CR) to their last platinum-based therapy.PATIENTS AND METHODSA total of 553 patients were enrolled in the trial. Of 203 patients with a germline BRCA mutation (gBRCAmut), 99 had a PR and 104 had a CR to their last platinum-based therapy; of 350 patients without a confirmed gBRCAmut (non?gBRCAmut), 173 had a PR and 177 had a CR. Post hoc analyses were carried out to evaluate safety and the risk of progression in these patients according to gBRCAmut status and response to their last platinum-based therapy. Ovarian cancer?specific symptoms and quality of life were assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy?Ovarian Symptom Index.RESULTSProgression-free survival was improved in patients treated with niraparib compared with placebo in both the gBRCAmut cohort (PR: hazard ratio [HR], 0.24; 95% CI, 0.131 to 0.441; P < .0001; CR: HR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.160 to 0.546; P < .0001) and the non?gBRCAmut cohort (PR: HR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.230 to 0.532; P < .0001; CR: HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.383 to 0.868; P = .0082). The incidence of any-grade and grade 3 or greater adverse events was manageable. No meaningful differences were observed between niraparib and placebo in PR and CR subgroups with respect to patient-reported outcomes.CONCLUSIONPatients achieved clinical benefit from maintenance treatment with niraparib regardless of response to the last platinum-based therapy

High frequency of BRCA1, but not CHEK2 or NBS1 (NBN), founder mutations in Russian ovarian cancer patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A significant portion of ovarian cancer (OC) cases is caused by germ-line mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. BRCA testing is cheap in populations with founder effect and therefore recommended for all patients with OC diagnosis. Recurrent mutations constitute the vast majority of BRCA defects in Russia, however their impact in OC morbidity has not been yet systematically studied. Furthermore, Russian population is characterized by a relatively high frequency of CHEK2 and NBS1 (NBN) heterozygotes, but it remains unclear whether these two genes contribute to the OC risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study included 354 OC patients from 2 distinct, geographically remote regions (290 from North-Western Russia (St.-Petersburg) and 64 from the south of the country (Krasnodar)). DNA samples were tested by allele-specific PCR for the presence of 8 founder mutations (BRCA1 5382insC, BRCA1 4153delA, BRCA1 185delAG, BRCA1 300T>G, BRCA2 6174delT, CHEK2 1100delC, CHEK2 IVS2+1G>A, NBS1 657del5). In addition, literature data on the occurrence of BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2 and NBS1 mutations in non-selected ovarian cancer patients were reviewed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>BRCA1 5382insC allele was detected in 28/290 (9.7%) OC cases from the North-West and 11/64 (17.2%) OC patients from the South of Russia. In addition, 4 BRCA1 185delAG, 2 BRCA1 4153delA, 1 BRCA2 6174delT, 2 CHEK2 1100delC and 1 NBS1 657del5 mutation were detected. 1 patient from Krasnodar was heterozygous for both BRCA1 5382insC and NBS1 657del5 variants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Founder BRCA1 mutations, especially BRCA1 5382insC variant, are responsible for substantial share of OC morbidity in Russia, therefore DNA testing has to be considered for every OC patient of Russian origin. Taken together with literature data, this study does not support the contribution of CHEK2 in OC risk, while the role of NBS1 heterozygosity may require further clarification.</p

Enhanced response rate to pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in high grade serous ovarian carcinomas harbouring BRCA1 and BRCA2 aberrations

Abstract Background Approximately 10–15% of ovarian carcinomas (OC) are attributed to inherited susceptibility, the majority of which are due to mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2). These patients display superior clinical outcome, including enhanced sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy. Here, we seek to investigate whether BRCA1/2 status influences the response rate to single-agent pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in high grade serous (HGS) OC. Methods One hundred and forty-eight patients treated with single-agent PLD were identified retrospectively from the Edinburgh Ovarian Cancer Database. DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) archival tumour material and sequenced using the Ion Ampliseq BRCA1 and BRCA2 panel. A minimum variant allele frequency threshold was applied to correct for sequencing artefacts associated with formalin fixation. Results A superior response rate to PLD was observed in patients with HGS OC who harboured variants likely to affect BRCA1 or BRCA2 function compared to the BRCA1/2 wild-type population (36%, 9 of 25 patients versus 12.1%, 7 of 58 patients; p = 0.016). An enhanced response rate was also seen in patients harbouring only the BRCA1 SNP rs1799950, predicted to be detrimental to BRCA1 function (50%, 3 of 6 patients versus 12.1%, 7 of 58 patients; p = 0.044). Conclusions These data demonstrate that HGS OC patients with BRCA1/2 variants predicted damaging to protein function experience superior sensitivity to PLD, consistent with impaired DNA repair. Further characterisation of rs1799950 is now warranted in relation to chemosensitivity and susceptibility to developing ovarian carcinoma

One in 10 ovarian cancer patients carry germ line BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations : results of a prospective study in Southern Sweden

At least 10% of all ovarian cancers are estimated to have a hereditary background. Hereditary breast-ovarian cancer (HBOC) due to mutations in the BRCA genes is a major cause of hereditary ovarian cancer, although its frequency and relationship to age and family history in unselected series of ovarian cancers is not completely known. We report here the results of a full mutational screening analysis for germ line BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in 161 patients with invasive epithelial ovarian carcinomas. Age at diagnosis ranged from 22 to 82 years (mean 59 years). Deleterious (frame-shift, nonsense and missense) mutations were detected in 13/161 (8%) of the patients and affected BRCA1 in 12 cases and BRCA2 in one case. Four additional missense variants (one in BRCA1 and three in BRCA2) with a possible association with an increased risk ovarian cancer were revealed, resulting in a total frequency of BRCA gene alterations of 17/161 (11%). The 13 patients with deleterious mutations had a mean age of 57 years (range 41-76 years) and only three of these patients were below 50 years of age. A family history of at least one breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer was reported in all but 1 of the patients with BRCA mutations compared with only 24% of patients without mutations. Our findings in this prospective study confirm approximately 1 in 10 patients with ovarian cancer carry a germ line BRCA gene mutation associated with HBOC, and also indicate that a large number of these patients are over 50 years of age at diagnosis

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in ovarian cancer : Covariation with specific cytogenetic features

We analyzed 37 primary invasive carcinomas for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations by screening the entire coding regions of both genes. Seven predicted truncating mutations (four in BRCA1 and three in BRCA2) and one novel BRCA1 missense variant (S1542C) were identified (8/37, 22%). Two of the BRCA1 mutations were somatic changes, whereas the remaining three BRCA1 changes and all mutations of BRCA2 were found to be of germline origin. All eight BRCA-positive tumors were serous or seropapillary carcinomas (8/27 serous tumors, 30%), and all but one were poorly differentiated. The correlation between tumor karyotype and BRCA status showed that clonal chromosomal aberrations were present in all BRCA-positive tumors (8/8) compared with 20 of 29 BRCA-negative ones. The most consistently affected region in BRCA-positive tumors was the long arm of chromosome 6; alterations within this arm with a breakpoint in band 6q21 were seen in four of five BRCA1-positive and in two of three BRCA2-positive tumors, but only in four of 20 karyotypically abnormal tumors without BRCA mutations, suggesting that the genetic pathways of tumor progression differ in the two groups. The high frequency of germline BRCA mutations detected in this pilot study (16% of 37 invasive carcinomas) points to the need for more extended analyses of population-based series of patients to determine the true contribution of these predisposing genes to the overall incidence of ovarian cancer in this population

Claudin-4 expression is associated with progression free survival in ovarian cancer, but not with chemotherapy response

The tight junction protein claudin-4 has been reported to be overexpressed in advanced ovarian cancer. We investigated the prognostic significance of claudin-4 overexpression and whether claudin-4 expression could predict platinum response in primary ovarian carcinoma (OC). Claudin-4 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in a tissue microarray of 140 OCs. Multivariable Cox-regression models were used to assess the effect of claudin-4 overexpression on progression-free survival and overall survival (OS). Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and the logrank test were performed comparing claudin-4 high and low groups. The association between claudin-4 expression and platinum resistance was assessed using risk ratios and the Pearson χ 2 test. A dataset of >1500 epithelial ovarian cancers was used to study the association between CLDN4 mRNA and survival. Of 140 evaluable cases, 71 (51%) displayed high claudin-4 expression. Claudin-4 overexpression predicted shorter 5-yr progression-free survival and OS in univariable analyses [hazard ratio (HR)=1.6 (1.1-2.5), P=0.020 and HR=1.6 (1.0-2.4), P=0.041, respectively]. Hazard of relapse was similar [HR=1.5 (1.0-2.4)] after adjustment for age, stage, type, and BRCA1/2 status in a multivariable analysis, but the evidence was slightly weaker (P=0.076). Validation in an external cohort confirmed the association between high expression of CLDN4 and poor 10-yr OS [HR=1.3 (1.1-1.5), P<0.001]. However, no confident association between claudin-4 and platinum sensitivity was found in our cohort [risk ratio=1.2 (0.7-2.0), P=0.3]. These findings suggest that high expression of claudin-4 may have a prognostic value in OC. The role of claudin-4 in the development of platinum resistance remains unclear