Results from the OlympiA Trial on Olaparib for High-Risk Breast Cancer Patients

Today we were a part of a pivotal moment in breast cancer research at SABCS 2024. The long-term follow-up results from the OlympiA trial, a phase 3, multicenter study, have been shared, bringing new hope for patients with high-risk HER2-negative primary breast cancer who carry germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 pathogenic variants.

This trial, which involved 1,836 patients, assessed the use of adjuvant olaparib (OL) after standard chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. The findings are striking: the benefits of olaparib in improving invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), and overall survival (OS) have been maintained even after a median follow-up of over six years.

Key Findings:

• Invasive Disease-Free Survival (IDFS): A 9.4% improvement at 6 years (79.6% for olaparib vs. 70.3% for placebo).
• Distant Disease-Free Survival (DDFS): A 7.8% improvement at 6 years (83.5% for olaparib vs. 75.7% for placebo).
• Overall Survival (OS): A 4.4% improvement at 6 years (87.5% for olaparib vs. 83.2% for placebo).

These benefits were consistent across subgroups, including those with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Importantly, the risk of adverse events, such as acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome, remained low and did not differ significantly between the olaparib and placebo groups.

Further, fewer secondary cancers, including contralateral breast cancer and ovarian cancer, were reported in the olaparib group, emphasizing the drug’s potential to reduce the risk of future malignancies in these patients.

Why This Matters:

For patients with high-risk, HER2-negative breast cancer and BRCA1/2 mutations, these results could transform clinical practice, offering a viable treatment option that extends survival while maintaining a manageable side-effect profile. It also reinforces the critical importance of genetic testing in breast cancer care, as identifying patients with these mutations could lead to better, personalized outcomes.

The OlympiA trial is an exciting step forward in improving the long-term outcomes for a high-risk patient population, and today’s update shows that precision medicine continues to shape the future of breast cancer treatment.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to bring you the latest from San Antonio.