This is one of two pre-specifed quality of life (QOL) analyses of maintenance treatment with PARP inhibitors.
The ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial reported that women who receive niraparib as maintenance treatment for recurrent ovarian cancer after responding to platinum treatment are able to maintain quality of life during their treatment when compared with placebo.
A commentary notes that these two analyses clearly show that neither olaparib nor niraparib has a detrimental effect on QOL in the maintenance setting of platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer. It suggests that future trials in the maintenance setting should include a predefined patient-reported outcomes (PRO) hypothesis and a statistical analysis plan including appropriate timing and duration of measurements. The completion of PRO instruments can be a burden to patients; thus, limiting PROs to those that inform a study-specific hypothesis can aid in achieving a high compliance rate.