Niraparib: A Review in Ovarian Cancer

Niraparib (Zejula^®), a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, is approved for the maintenance treatment of recurrent, epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer in patients who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Approval was based on the results of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III NOVA trial. In NOVA, niraparib significantly prolonged progression-free survival (primary endpoint), chemotherapy-free interval and time to first subsequent therapy compared with placebo in patients with recurrent, platinum-sensitive, high grade serous ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer. The beneficial effects of niraparib were consistent regardless of BRCA mutation or homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) status. Niraparib had a manageable tolerability profile, with the majority of grade 3 or 4 adverse events being haematologic abnormalities (e.g. thrombocytopenia, anaemia, neutropenia). Adverse events were generally well managed with dose interruption or modification of niraparib. Current evidence suggests that niraparib is an effective new option with a manageable tolerability profile for the maintenance treatment of recurrent, platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer in adults, with or without BRCA1/2 mutation or HRD.