Belgian precision studies with olaparib and afatinib

Dr Joris, medical oncologist at UZ Brussels and Prof Decoster, medical oncologist at UZ Brussels gave a summary of the 2 posters they presented.

Efficacy of olaparib in advanced cancers with germline or somatic tumor mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2 and ATM: A Belgian precision tumor-agnostic phase II study.

The study assessed the efficacy of olaparib across four cohorts of cancer patients exhibiting specific gene mutations. Effectiveness was observed in BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations, no impact was identified in germline or somatic mutations in CHEK2 and ATM genes. Early initiation of olaparib involves the greatest therapeutic benefits, future research should incorporate PARP inhibitors early into study designs.

Afatinib for EGFR, HER2 or HER3 mutated solid tumors: A phase II Belgian precision study.

Patient recruitment faced challenges attributable to the absence of a systemic Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) methodology. Among the aggregated HER2 mutations, there was a notable lack of responsiveness to afatinib treatment. Furthermore, HER3 did not elicit any discernible therapeutic response. Despite observing an objective response rate in cases involving EGFR mutations, the limited cohort size precluded definitive conclusions. Other new pharmaceutical agents exhibit greater promise for further investigations.