EMBRACE is a Phase II clinical trial of the PARP inhibitor, olaparib, in HR-deficient metastatic breast and relapsed ovarian cancer in patients without germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2.
The EMBRACE study has closed and data collected is being analysed following the enrolment of 15 patients from the high grade serous ovarian cancer cohort and another 7 patients from the triple negative breast cancer cohort.
Led by Dr Katrin Sjoquist, the study is a collaboration between ANZGOG, Breast Cancer Trials (BCT), the Genomic Cancer Clinical Trials Initiative (GCCTI) and the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney.
EMBRACE is a study of patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) or relapsed platinum-sensitive high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) after first line/adjuvant therapy who have an eligible tumour molecular analysis result.
“The EMBRACE trial aims to establish whether an additional group of patients with breast and ovarian cancer might benefit from treatment with a PARP inhibitor (targeted treatment) called olaparib.
We are currently working towards analysing the main trial results for EMBRACE along with translational work. We’re excited to hopefully have results to share by the end of the year, which will potentially inform future research and trials in this area.
The trial team are grateful to all the participants and those who were screened for the study. Every single participant has contributed to improving our understanding of breast and ovarian cancers, and how best to use PARP inhibitors such as olaparib.”
Dr Katrin Sjoquist, Medical Oncologist
Increasing evidence supports extent of BRCA 1 methylation as an important biomarker for response to PARP inhibitors (PARPi), and is potentially superior to other HRD markers. A prospective trial is critical to using this biomarker in clinical practice to identify those patients who will benefit most from PARPi.
We thank all participating women and their families, participating sites, and the NHMRC CTC team for their long-term commitment to the study.