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Axatilimab and Olaparib for the Treatment of Patients with BRCA 1/2 and PALB2-Associated Metastatic HER2 Negative Breast Cancer

Trial Status: active

This phase Ib trial tests the safety, side effects, best dose, and effectiveness of axatilimab and olaparib in treating patients with BRCA 1/2 and PALB2-associated HER2 negative breast cancer that has spread from where it first started to other places in the body (metastatic). Axatilimab is a CSF-1R inhibitor, which blocks tumor associated macrophages (TAMs). TAMs are thought to play a role in resistance to poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors in patients with breast cancer and BRCA1 or 2 mutations. Olaparib is a PARP inhibitor which means that it blocks an enzyme (proteins that help chemical reactions in the body occur) in cells called PARP. PARP helps repair deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) when it becomes damaged. In normal cells and many cancer cells, repair of DNA damage also requires the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Therefore, when a drug that inhibits PARP is given to people with a BRCA mutation, both ways of repairing damaged DNA no longer work. The combined effect of knocking out both DNA repair mechanisms pushes tumor cells into a death process. Germline PALB2 mutations have also demonstrated sensitivity to PARP inhibitors. Giving axatilimab and olaparib may be safe, tolerable, and/or effective in treating patients with BRCA 1/2 and PALB2-associated metastatic HER2 negative breast cancer.