I am BRCA negative. I have been told I have a 50% chance of benefitting from PARP inhibitors. I have been on Zejula for 4 months and it has been difficult to adjust to it. I am taking 3 other medications of offset side effects. I have been told HRD testing is what I need to know if I will actually benefit. Does anyone know where you can get this type of test in Canada. Thanks.
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I am HRD positive. For me the test was a requirement to qualify for the Olaparib clinical trial I was on two years ago. In order to assess that a piece of my original tumor tissue was used. So that was ordered up from PMH where my original surgery was done and where the tissue is stored, and then sent off to wherever for assessment. Your oncologist should be able to tell you how to go about getting the testing done, if, in fact, it can be done on request. I expect there is a cost associated though. Certainly any medical oncologist who is involved in clinical trials would know he process.
The advice from the second oncologist seems in line with my own experience getting tested. For me it was needed to qualify me for a clinical trial. I recall my own oncologist suggesting there were lots more out there with the HRD and knowing that would help them when prescribing treatment or considering trial candidates but that up until then (which was two years ago) the testing was not done routine. Unlike with the original approval for use of Olaprib, Zejula's sister drug, where you had to be BRCA positive, I've never heard of any prerequisite genetically related to Zejula. So at a loss for what your oncologist is suggesting.
Any of our current community been told anything similar to what jmbarrhaven has? Please comment if you have.