Administration of the Tablet Formulation of Olaparib in Patients with Ovarian Cancer: Practical Guidance and Expectations

AbstractOlaparib is a poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase enzyme inhibitor that is approved for use in patients with advanced ovarian cancer (OC) and genetic BRCA1/2 mutations who have received three or more prior lines of chemotherapy for maintenance treatment of recurrent OC that is in response to platinum‐based chemotherapy regardless of BRCA mutation status and for human epidermal growth receptor factor 2‐negative metastatic breast cancer with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA mutations who have previously been treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting. Because olaparib is poorly soluble and requires advanced drug delivery techniques to ensure bioavailability, the originally approved 400 mg dose is taken as eight 50 mg capsules twice daily. An alternative melt‐extrusion tablet formulation was developed to improve the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of olaparib and reduce the pill burden for patients. The recommended tablet dose is 300 mg twice daily (two 150 mg tablets). Phase III studies with the tablet formulation are ongoing for multiple tumor types. Two studies conducted with the olaparib tablet formulation have reported results: one in platinum‐sensitive, BRCA‐mutated recurrent OC (SOLO‐2) and one that included patients with germline BRCA‐mutated metastatic breast cancer (OlympiAD). The tablet is the approved formulation based on the SOLO‐2 trial results. Because the capsule and tablet formula...
Source: The Oncologist - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Review, Gynecologic Oncology Source Type: research