Parp Inhibitor in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (PIN)
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2018-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In 2010, more than 35,000 people died in the United Kingdom from lung cancer, the majority
from non-small cell cancer (NSCLC). Chemotherapy is one of the main treatments for patients
with NSCLC but those treated will still only live for an average of 9 or 10 months after
diagnosis.
The purpose of this clinical trial is to find out whether or not giving a drug called
Olaparib following chemotherapy will benefit patients with NSCLC who have responded to
initial chemotherapy treatment by prolonging the time before the tumour regrows. Olaparib is
a new, oral drug developed by AstraZeneca which may help to slow down cancer growth. The
rationale for this clinical trial is that chemotherapy damages tumour cell DNA and NSCLC
tumours that respond to chemotherapy are less able to repair this damage. This can be
exploited by using Olaparib as it blocks an enzyme called Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)
which is essential for DNA repair. This will prevent DNA repair and cause cancer cell death
by a mechanism known as synthetic lethality. Synthetic lethality arises when a combination of
mutation in two or more genes leads to cell death.
Up to 300 patients who are to receive standard chemotherapy treatment will be initially
registered into the trial. Of these patients, 114 patients who have responded to chemotherapy
will be randomly allocated to receive either Olaparib or an inactive dummy pill or placebo by
mouth. The trial will assess whether Olaparib delays disease progression following standard
chemotherapy treatment in patients. It will also show whether the side effects of adding
Olaparib following standard treatment are acceptable.