More Kiwi Women with Ovarian Cancer Set to Access Funded Medicine

More New Zealand women will have access to a funded medicine for the treatment of a specific form of advanced ovarian cancer, the fifth most common cause of female cancer mortality.[1]

The widened access comes following a funding boost by the Government into treatment options for this aggressive form of cancer.

Kiwi women living with ovarian cancer have one of the lowest survival rates of any women’s cancer in the country. Only 45% of Kiwi women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will live for at least five years after diagnosis, and only about one in three will live for at least 10 years.[2][3]

It is six years since the first PARP inhibitor for treating ovarian cancer in women who harbour a BRCA gene mutation, was approved for use in New Zealand.

The treatment, called Lynparza (Olaparib), works by destroying cancer cells that are not good at repairing DNA damage and is used for certain types of ovarian cancer.[4]

Public attention was first brought to the BRCA gene mutation in 2013 by Angelina Jolie, following her announcement that she was a carrier, and would be taking preventative action to reduce her risk.[5]

The consequent ‘Angelina Jolie Effect’ led to an 80% increase in women seeking to understand their BRCA status, an important step for women living with breast and ovarian cancers.5

Prior to the development of BRCA targeted therapies, such as Lynparza, treatment options for ovarian cancer patients, other than chemotherapy, had remained limited for around 40 years.[6]

Dr Kate Gregory, Chair of the New Zealand Gynaecological Cancer Special Interest Group says that most women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage when their cancer is more difficult to treat.[7]

She says those women diagnosed with ovarian cancer have had limited treatment options once surgery or chemotherapy have been exhausted.[6]

“New Zealand women urgently need access to more treatments and we need increased awareness of symptoms among women and healthcare professionals which may mean more patients are diagnosed earlier and hence at a more curable stage. We also need improved access to diagnostic tests such as pelvic ultrasounds,'' she says.

The latest boost to funding for ovarian cancer means access to Lynparza has now been widened to include maintenance (ongoing) treatment of patients with newly diagnosed, BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer. It is used once the cancer has responded to treatment with standard platinum-based chemotherapy to decrease the chances of their cancer returning or delaying its return .[4]

Jane Ludemann from advocacy group Cure our Ovarian Cancer says the widened access is a positive step towards helping meet the needs of those women impacted by the devastating disease.

“Ovarian cancer has few treatments and is significantly underfunded, so for a segment of patients, more specifically those who have BRCA positive high-grade serous carcinoma, it is important they have access to this modern treatment when they are diagnosed.

“This will give them the reassurance that they are doing everything they can to stack the odds in their favour instead of having to wait for their cancer to return and be incurable,” she says.

“Ovarian cancer survival is less than half breast cancer and prostate cancer, but it's disproportionately under-funded.

“In addition, it's really important for people to know the symptoms and be aware that ovarian cancer isn’t detected with a cervical smear test,” says Ludemann.

Benjamin McDonald, Country President, AstraZeneca New Zealand & Australia, which jointly developed Lynparza, says the company is committed to making its innovative targeted therapies more accessible to Kiwi women living with various forms of ovarian cancer.

“The wider eligibility for funded access to Lynparza underscores the need for BRCA testing to be undertaken immediately after diagnosis to identify the women who may benefit from this treatment, which offers them the chance of living longer without their cancer progressing and delays the need for subsequent lines of chemotherapy,” he says.

McDonald says AstraZeneca has been working collaboratively with the medical community, patient organisations, Pharmac and the NZ Government to ensure patients across New Zealand living with chronic, terminal and rare diseases have access to medicines that may help with the management of their disease.