New Hope for Prostate Cancer: Study Shows PARP Inhibitor Slows Advancement
A groundbreaking study led by Professor Gerhardt Attard from the UCL Cancer Institute has found that combining niraparib, a PARP inhibitor, with standard hormone therapy can significantly slow the progression of advanced prostate cancer. The trial, published in Nature Medicine and sponsored by Janssen Research & Development, involved 696 men across 32 countries, with participants averaging 68 years of age.
The combination of niraparib with abiraterone acetate and prednisone cut the risk of cancer growth by 37% across all patients. Notably, among patients with BRCA gene mutations, this risk was reduced by 48%. Patients receiving niraparib also experienced a longer period before their symptoms worsened, effectively doubling the time until symptoms got worse. The trial focused on patients with specific DNA repair gene mutations, highlighting the potential of widespread genomic testing at diagnosis to identify patients who could benefit from targeted treatments like niraparib. Niraparib is already used to treat ovarian and fallopian tube cancers and works by blocking a protein called PARP from helping cancer cells repair themselves.
This study offers new hope for men with advanced prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer among men in the UK. The combination of niraparib with standard hormone therapy has shown promising results in slowing cancer progression and could significantly extend life expectancy. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore the potential of genomic testing in personalising prostate cancer treatment.
