Third of men with treatment resistant prostate cancer respond to drug that targets gene defect, study finds

One third of men with metastatic prostate cancer who do not respond to hormonal therapy show a response to olaparib, which targets inherited gene defects underlying the cancer in some people, says a study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.1

The phase II trial included 50 men with metastatic prostate cancer that was resistant to androgen blockade. All of the men had previously been treated with docetaxel, and most (98%) had received abiraterone or enzalutamide. In the trial they were treated with olaparib tablets at a dose of 400 …