Further positive results from the OlympiA Phase III trial showed AstraZeneca and MSD’s Lynparza (olaparib) demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) versus placebo in the adjuvant treatment of patients with germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm) high-risk human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative early breast cancer who had completed local treatment and standard neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy.

These results were presented today at a European Society for Medical Oncology Virtual Plenary. The OlympiA trial is led by the Breast International Group (BIG) in partnership with the Frontier Science & Technology Research Foundation (FSTRF), NRG Oncology, AstraZeneca and MSD.

Primary results from the OlympiA Phase III trial were first presented during the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and are published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The OS data and the primary results formed the basis for the recent approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Lynparza in this setting.

Professor Andrew Tutt, Global Chair of the OlympiA Phase III trial and Professor of Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London and King’s College London, said: “OlympiA’s latest results are great news for patients with a specific inherited form of breast cancer. Most breast cancers are identified in the early stages and many patients will do very well, but for those with higher risk disease at diagnosis, the risk of cancer returning can be unacceptably high. OlympiA has now shown that olaparib not only reduced the risk of recurrence but also improved overall survival for women with high risk early-stage breast cancer and a BRCA1/2 mutation and is an exciting demonstration of the benefits of targeting the specific biology of disease for these women.”

Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, said: “These exciting results further support how Lynparza could significantly change the way people with germline BRCA-mutated early breast cancer are treated. The OlympiA trial is the first time we’ve seen a PARP inhibitor deliver survival benefit in early breast cancer, highlighting the importance of persistent innovation in tackling cancer early.”