
Last year in the UK over 60,000 cancer patients enrolled on clinical trials aimed at improving cancer treatments and making them available to all.
Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.
This trial is looking at olaparib for people with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who have already had one other treatment. This trial is supported by Cancer Research UK.
Doctors treat small cell lung cancer with chemotherapy or chemotherapy and radiotherapy (). Unfortunately it may come back afterwards. The researchers want to see if olaparib can delay or prevent SCLC coming back after the first line treatment. This is called maintenance therapy.
Olaparib is a type of biological therapy called a PARP inhibitor. It blocks an that cancer cells need to repair themselves and grow.
In this trial some people will have olaparib and some people will have a dummy drug (placebo).
The aims of this trial are to find out
You may be able to enter this trial if
You cannot enter this trial if
This is a phase 2 trial. It will recruit 222 people. It is a randomised trial. The people taking part are put into treatment groups by a computer. Neither you nor your doctor will be able to decide which group you are in. And neither of you will know which group you are in. This is called a double blind trial. The groups are
Olaparib and the dummy drug are tablets. You take them every day for 2 years.
If your cancer comes back during the 2 years, you stop taking the olaparib or dummy drug. Your doctor will talk to you about other treatment that may be available to you.
If you have very bad side effects the doctor can reduce the number of tablets you take.
The trial team will ask you to fill out a questionnaire before you start treatment, every month during treatment and after you finish treatment. The questionnaire will ask about side effects and how you’ve been feeling. This is called a quality of life study.
If you agree to take part in this study, the researchers will ask for 3 extra blood samples during the trial and for a sample of your cancer that was removed when you had surgery or a . If you don’t want to give these samples for research, you don’t have to. You can still take part in the trial.
You see the doctor to have some tests before taking part in this trial. These tests include
During treatment you see the doctor every month for a physical examination and blood tests. You have a chest X-ray at 4 weeks and then every 2 months.
If you stopped treament early due to side effects rather than your cancer getting worse with your permission the trial team would like you to have a CT scan every 2 months.
After treatment your doctor will tell you how often they want to see you.
Olaparib is a new drug and there may be side effects we don’t know about yet. The most common side effects may include
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Professor Penella Woll
AstraZeneca
Cancer Research UK
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
This is Cancer Research UK trial number CRUK/10/037.
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Last year in the UK over 60,000 cancer patients enrolled on clinical trials aimed at improving cancer treatments and making them available to all.