(ChemotherapyAdvisor) – Patients with serous ovarian cancer BRCA2 mutations, but not BRCA1 mutations, have a survival advantage, according to a team of researchers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. This conclusion is based on a study entitled “Improved survival for BRCA2-associated serous ovarian cancer compared with both BRCA-negative and BRCA1-associated serous ovarian cancer,” which is published in the August 1 issue of Cancer.
In this study, the investigators aimed to examine the outcomes of BRCA1-associated and BRCA2-associated ovarian cancers. To meet this aim, they performed a retrospective analysis of patients with a recent diagnosis of stage III or IV serous ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer and who underwent BRCA mutation testing.
The investigators reported the following results based on an analysis of 190 patients (143 BRCA-negative patients, 30 BRCA1-positive patients, and 17 BRCA2-positive patients). “During the study period, 73 deaths were observed (60 BRCA-negative patients, 10 BRCA1-positive patients, 3 BRCA2-positive patients),” they wrote. “At 3 years, 69.4%, 90.7%, and 100% of BRCA-negative patients, BRCA1-positive patients, and BRCA2-positive patients were alive, respectively.” More importantly, BRCA2 mutations (hazard ratio, 0.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.06–0.65; P=.007), but not BRCA1 mutations (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.36–1.38; P=.31), predicted improved overall survival compared with BRCA-negative patients.
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The investigators concluded: “BRCA2 mutations confer an overall survival advantage compared with either being BRCA-negative or having a BRCA1 mutation in high-grade serous ovarian cancer.”
