Olaparib + Pembrolizumab for Advanced Cancer

Not currently recruiting at 182 trial locations

Overseen By Toll Free Number

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Phase 2

Sponsor: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

Must not be taking: CYP3A4 inhibitors, CYP3A4 inducers

Disqualifiers: Active infection, CNS metastases, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Prior Safety Data This treatment has passed at least one previous human trial

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

Duration: Up to 2 years

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests a combination of two treatments, olaparib (Lynparza) and pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA), to determine their effectiveness and safety for individuals with advanced solid tumors unresponsive to other treatments. It targets those with tumors having specific genetic issues related to DNA repair. Suitable participants have advanced cancer that has spread or cannot be surgically removed and have not benefited from standard treatments. As a Phase 2 trial, the research focuses on evaluating the treatment's effectiveness in an initial, smaller group of participants.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial requires that you stop taking certain medications that affect the liver enzyme CYP3A4. If you are on strong or moderate inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A4, you will need to stop them for a specific period before starting the trial: 2 weeks for inhibitors and up to 5 weeks for inducers like phenobarbital.

Is there any evidence suggesting that this trial's treatments are likely to be safe?

Research has shown that using olaparib with pembrolizumab is generally safe. Studies have found that this combination has manageable side effects. Common side effects include low red blood cell count (anemia), nausea, and fatigue, which are typical of many cancer treatments. Importantly, no new safety issues have emerged with this combination.

Additionally, research indicates that adding olaparib to pembrolizumab does not harm overall quality of life. While all treatments can have side effects, current evidence suggests that most patients tolerate this combination well. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial's treatments?

Researchers are excited about the combination of olaparib and pembrolizumab for advanced cancer because it offers a unique approach compared to traditional treatments. Olaparib is a PARP inhibitor, which interferes with cancer cell DNA repair mechanisms, while pembrolizumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively. This dual action targets cancer cells from two different angles, potentially leading to enhanced treatment effectiveness. Unlike standard chemotherapy, this combination specifically targets cancer cell vulnerabilities, which may result in fewer side effects and improved outcomes for patients.

What evidence suggests that the combination of olaparib and pembrolizumab could be effective for advanced cancer?

Research has shown that using olaparib and pembrolizumab together may help treat advanced cancers with certain genetic changes. Studies have found this combination works well in tumors with specific genetic mutations often seen in these cancers. The combination has been shown to shrink or slow down tumor growth. In one study, patients who received this treatment lived for an average of 23.9 months without their disease worsening, compared to 15.2 months for those who only had chemotherapy. This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the olaparib and pembrolizumab combination, which might be more effective than standard treatments for these advanced cancers. ^{1 2 5 6 7}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Medical Director

Principal Investigator

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

Adults with advanced solid tumors that have specific genetic mutations or deficiencies, who've had some response to platinum-based therapies and are not eligible for curative treatment. They must be in relatively good health, agree to contraception, and not be pregnant or breastfeeding. Exclusions include certain blood disorders, active infections or autoimmune diseases, recent treatments with other cancer drugs or vaccines, and known allergies to trial medications.

Inclusion Criteria

My last cancer treatment, which included platinum-based therapy, was effective.

My cancer has harmful mutations in specific genes related to DNA repair.

My cancer responded to platinum-based treatment without becoming resistant.

Exclusion Criteria

I am not on high-dose steroids or other drugs that weaken my immune system.

I have received an organ or tissue transplant from another person.

I have not received a live vaccine in the last 30 days.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants receive olaparib 300 mg via oral tablet 2 times each day plus pembrolizumab 200 mg via intravenous infusion on Day 1 of each 21-day cycle. Treatment may continue for up to approximately 2 years.

Up to 2 years

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment

Up to 3 years

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Olaparib
• Pembrolizumab

Trial Overview The trial is testing the combination of two drugs: Olaparib (MK-7339), which targets cancer cells with DNA repair issues; and Pembrolizumab (MK-3475), an immunotherapy drug. The study aims to see how well these drugs work together in treating patients whose tumors have specific genetic features making them hard to treat.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Olaparib+Pembrolizumab Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

Participants receive olaparib 300 mg via oral tablet 2 times each day PLUS pembrolizumab 200 mg via intravenous infusion on Day 1 of each 21-day cycle. Participants may receive olaparib+pembrolizumab for up to approximately 2 years.

Olaparib is already approved in European Union, United States for the following indications:

Approved in European Union as Lynparza for:

• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Fallopian tube cancer
• Peritoneal cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Endometrial cancer

Approved in United States as Lynparza for:

• Ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer
• Breast cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Pancreatic cancer

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

Lead Sponsor

Trials

2,287

Recruited

4,582,000+

Chirfi Guindo

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

Chief Medical Officer

Engineering degree from Ecole Centrale de Paris, MBA from New York University Stern School of Business

Robert M. Davis

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

Chief Executive Officer since 2021

J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Bachelor's in Finance from Miami University

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Lead Sponsor

Trials

4,096

Recruited

5,232,000+

Chirfi Guindo

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Chief Marketing Officer since 2022

Degree in Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Paris, MBA from New York University Stern School of Business

Robert M. Davis

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Chief Executive Officer since 2021

JD from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Bachelor's in Finance from Miami University

Published Research Related to This Trial

Olaparib (Lynparza) is approved for treating adult patients with high-risk early breast cancer that has a germline BRCA mutation, following chemotherapy treatment.

This approval highlights Olaparib's role as an adjuvant therapy, which means it is used after initial treatments to help prevent cancer recurrence.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

New Adjuvant Treatment for High-Risk Early Breast Cancer. Aschenbrenner, DS.[2022]

Olaparib is a powerful inhibitor of PARP-1 and PARP-2, showing effectiveness in treating ovarian cancer, particularly in patients with germline BRCA mutations.

Phase III trials are currently evaluating olaparib's efficacy as a maintenance therapy after initial treatment in patients with BRCA mutations, highlighting its potential role in long-term cancer management.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olaparib: an oral PARP-1 and PARP-2 inhibitor with promising activity in ovarian cancer. Gunderson, CC., Moore, KN.[2016]

Olaparib is particularly effective for patients with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer, but it also benefits a subset of patients with BRCA wild-type tumors that have loss-of-function mutations in DNA repair genes, showing similar treatment outcomes.

The study suggests that patients with specific HRR gene mutations, even without BRCA mutations, can be identified as a group that may respond well to olaparib, indicating a potential for broader use of this treatment in ovarian cancer.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Candidate biomarkers of PARP inhibitor sensitivity in ovarian cancer beyond the BRCA genes. Hodgson, DR., Dougherty, BA., Lai, Z., et al.[2020]

The combination of olaparib and carboplatin was found to be safe and effective in treating breast and ovarian cancer in patients with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, with 50% of patients showing a partial response and one patient achieving a complete response.

Proteomic analysis indicated that high levels of FOXO3a expression before treatment may predict a better response to the therapy, suggesting a potential biomarker for future studies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phase I/Ib study of olaparib and carboplatin in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation-associated breast or ovarian cancer with biomarker analyses. Lee, JM., Hays, JL., Annunziata, CM., et al.[2022]

In the KEYNOTE-024 study involving 305 patients with untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, pembrolizumab significantly improved overall survival (OS) compared to platinum-based chemotherapy, with a median OS of 30.0 months versus 14.2 months for chemotherapy.

Pembrolizumab also had a better safety profile, with fewer treatment-related severe adverse events (31.2% for pembrolizumab vs. 53.3% for chemotherapy), indicating it is a safer option for patients.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Updated Analysis of KEYNOTE-024: Pembrolizumab Versus Platinum-Based Chemotherapy for Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer With PD-L1 Tumor Proportion Score of 50% or Greater. Reck, M., Rodríguez-Abreu, D., Robinson, AG., et al.[2022]

In a phase III study involving 793 participants with heavily pretreated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), the combination of pembrolizumab and olaparib did not significantly improve radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) or overall survival (OS) compared to next-generation hormonal agents (NHA).

Although the combination therapy showed a higher objective response rate (16.8% vs. 5.9% for NHA), the study was ultimately stopped for futility, indicating that it did not provide a meaningful benefit in prolonging survival or delaying disease progression.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pembrolizumab Plus Olaparib for Patients With Previously Treated and Biomarker-Unselected Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: The Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III KEYLYNK-010 Trial. Antonarakis, ES., Park, SH., Goh, JC., et al.[2023]

In the KEYNOTE-407 study, pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival (17.1 months) and progression-free survival (8.0 months) compared to placebo plus chemotherapy in patients with untreated metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The study also found that patients receiving pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy had a longer time before disease progression on subsequent treatments (PFS-2), supporting its use as a standard first-line therapy, despite a similar rate of serious adverse events (grade 3 to 5) between the two treatment groups.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Pembrolizumab Plus Chemotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Squamous NSCLC: Protocol-Specified Final Analysis of KEYNOTE-407. Paz-Ares, L., Vicente, D., Tafreshi, A., et al.[2021]

Olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, showed a 36% objective response rate in women with relapsed ovarian cancer and a germline BRCA1/2 mutation, even after they had undergone multiple lines of chemotherapy, indicating its efficacy in this challenging patient population.

The median duration of response to olaparib was 7.4 months, and the safety profile was consistent across patients who had received three or more lines of prior chemotherapy, with similar rates of serious adverse events.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olaparib monotherapy in patients with advanced relapsed ovarian cancer and a germline BRCA1/2 mutation: a multistudy analysis of response rates and safety. Matulonis, UA., Penson, RT., Domchek, SM., et al.[2022]

Olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, has shown significant clinical benefits in improving progression-free survival for patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutated HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer compared to standard chemotherapy.

The drug has a manageable safety profile, making it a promising treatment option, particularly for triple negative breast cancer, although further research is needed to optimize its use with other therapies and identify suitable biomarkers.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olaparib for the treatment of breast cancer. Griguolo, G., Dieci, MV., Guarneri, V., et al.[2019]

In a long-term study of 123 patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC, the combination of pembrolizumab with pemetrexed-carboplatin significantly improved the objective response rate (58% vs. 33%) and progression-free survival (24.5 months vs. 9.9 months) compared to chemotherapy alone.

Patients who completed 2 years of pembrolizumab treatment had a remarkable 92% survival rate at the data cutoff, indicating a durable clinical benefit, while the safety profile remained manageable with no new safety concerns identified.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long-Term Overall Survival From KEYNOTE-021 Cohort G: Pemetrexed and Carboplatin With or Without Pembrolizumab as First-Line Therapy for Advanced Nonsquamous NSCLC. Awad, MM., Gadgeel, SM., Borghaei, H., et al.[2021]

Olaparib is an effective first-line maintenance treatment for adults with advanced ovarian cancer who have responded to platinum-based chemotherapy, significantly improving progression-free survival compared to placebo in phase III trials.

When combined with bevacizumab, olaparib further enhances treatment efficacy in patients with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), but does not show benefits in HRD-negative tumors, indicating its targeted effectiveness.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olaparib: A Review as First-Line Maintenance Therapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer. Paik, J.[2022]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12238646/

A phase II single-arm study of combination pembrolizumab ... A phase II single-arm study of combination pembrolizumab and olaparib in the treatment of patients with advanced biliary tract cancer.

2. mdanderson.org mdanderson.org/newsroom/aacr-olaparib-and-pembrolizumab-combination-shows-early-promise-in-molecularly-selected-tumor-agnostic-trial.h00-159775656.html

AACR: Olaparib and pembrolizumab combination shows ... The combination of the PARP inhibitor olaparib and the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab showed initial antitumor activity with no new safety signals.

3. onclive.com onclive.com/view/olaparib-plus-pembrolizumab-shows-efficacy-in-hrr-gene-mutated-advanced-tumors-with-without-hrd-positivity

Olaparib Plus Pembrolizumab Shows Efficacy in HRR ... Olaparib plus pembrolizumab was safe and effective in HRR gene–mutated and/or HRD-positive advanced tumors.

4. merck.com merck.com/news/merck-announces-phase-3-keylynk-001-trial-met-primary-endpoint-of-progression-free-survival-pfs-in-patients-with-advanced-epithelial-ovarian-cancer/

Merck Announces Phase 3 KEYLYNK-001 Trial Met ... The safety profiles of KEYTRUDA and LYNPARZA were consistent with those observed in previously reported studies for the individual therapies.

5. oncologynewscentral.com oncologynewscentral.com/ovarian-cancer/phase-3-trial-of-pembrolizumab-combo-in-advanced-ovarian-cancer-raises-questions

Phase 3 Trial of Pembrolizumab Combo in Advanced ... The median PFS for pembrolizumab plus olaparib was 23.9 months compared with 15.2 months for chemotherapy alone.

6. merck.com merck.com/news/keytruda-pembrolizumab-plus-chemotherapy-with-or-without-bevacizumab-reduced-risk-of-disease-progression-or-death-versus-chemotherapy-with-or-without-bevacizumab-in-certain-patients-with-plati/

KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Chemotherapy With ... The safety and effectiveness of KEYTRUDA in pediatric patients with TMB-H central nervous system cancers have not been established. Cutaneous ...

7. jto.org jto.org/article/S1556-0864(24)02420-1/fulltext

Pembrolizumab With or Without Maintenance Olaparib for ... Consistent with the safety outcomes, addition of olaparib to pembrolizumab did not have a detrimental effect on overall health-related QoL ...