A new medicine for targeted treatment of patients with recurring serous ovarian or primary peritoneal serous carcinoma (PPSC), who have a mutation of BRCA1/2 genes (somatic mutation), was recently registered in the EU – LynparzaTM (olaparib). Olaparib was registered based on a subanalysis of a study in phase II (9), in which patients with BRCA1/2 gene mutation who received olaparib lived 7 months longer without the disease progressing than patients that were not administered this medicine (11 months vs. 4 months)the difference was statistically relevant (HR 0.18p < 0.00001). There were no differences in total survival of patients. Olaparib is an oral medication in capsules, so patients can take it at home. The available data shows that the most frequent side effects were nausea and fatigue. 25% of patients took olaparib for two years or more and the therapy was rarely discontinued due to side effects (only 9% of patients), which shows that patients usually tolerate olaparib well, which is a great advantage compared to chemotherapy, which was so far the only available treatment for recurring ovarian cancer (9)
