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POLO Trial — SCE Medical Oncology MCQ

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HardGI CancersPOLO TrialSCE Medical Oncology

A patient with germline BRCA2-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer has not progressed after 20 weeks of platinum chemotherapy. Which biological vulnerability supports maintenance PARP inhibition?

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Correct answer: E — Deficient homologous-recombination DNA repair

BRCA2 loss impairs homologous-recombination repair. PARP inhibition creates unrepaired single-strand lesions that become lethal double-strand damage in this repair-deficient context, a synthetic-lethal interaction. The clinical eligibility also requires confirmed germline BRCA1/2 mutation and non-progression on first-line platinum treatment.

Reference: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/conditions-and-diseases/cancer