Encouraging news for those affected by uterine cancer: In a few weeks, the range of treatment options will expand. In future, women with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma will be able to be treated with the active substances durvalumab and olaparib.

The basis for this new treatment option is the results from the Phase III trial DUO-E. The trial was coordinated within ENGOT (Network of European Study Groups) and in Germany by NOGGO (www.noggo.de).

The trial investigated the use of durvalumab (a novel checkpoint inhibitor) and olaparib in uterine cancer patients. Until now, olaparib has only been used in certain patients with ovarian cancer and breast cancer. Following the DUO-E trial, durvalumab plus chemotherapy, followed by durvalumab and olaparib, can now be recommended as first-line treatment for patients with mismatch repair-proficient (pMMR) disease, as well as durvalumab plus chemotherapy, followed by durvalumab alone, for patients with mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) disease. Mismatch status determines the repair capacity of the tumour cells in the tumour tissue.

In the trial, both therapies showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy alone. The recommendation for approval was made by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

This result and the resulting new treatment option are further evidence of how important participation in clinical trials is.