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Shahrin Ahmed: Specific Pre-surgery Medication Improves Survival Rates in Hereditary Breast Cancer Cases

D.Shahrin Ahmed/X

May 20, 2025, 16:46

Shahrin Ahmed: Specific Pre-surgery Medication Improves Survival Rates in Hereditary Breast Cancer Cases

Shahrin Ahmed, Medical Specialist at Canadian Cancer Society, shared a post on X:

“A specific pre-surgery medication improves survival rates in hereditary breast cancer cases –

Patients with early-stage BRCA1/2-mutated breast cancer may have a new treatment strategy that could redefine their standard of care.

Compared to the standard treatment group, those who received a pre-operation combination of carboplatin-based chemotherapy and olaparib, a targeted PARP inhibitor, had 100% overall survival at 36 months.

The research arm showed a statistical significant improvement in event-free survival, with over 95% in the research arm compared to 80% in the control group, as reported in Nature Communications.

According to the researchers, the preclinical data that informed the clinical design as evidence of the potential for reducing toxicity while maintaining anti-tumor activity by introducing a 48-hour gap between carboplatin and olaparib treatments.

It is important to note that the benefit was not observed with a reversed schedule: patients who received olaparib before chemotherapy actually had worse outcomes than those who did not receive chemotherapy at all. The important aspect of drug scheduling for optimal treatment is highlighted by these contrasting results.

Treatment strategies for other cancers related to BRCA, such as ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic, where PARP inhibitors are already used, could be influenced by the trial.

Compared to the current offer of full year of adjuvant therapy, the regimen only uses 12 weeks of olaparib before surgery. The potential benefits of it include reducing cumulative toxicity, improving patient quality of life, and generating cost savings.”