What cancers does Lynparza treat?
Emily Ross
Published Jan 17, 2026
LYNPARZA is a prescription medicine used to treat adults who have: advanced ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, or primary peritoneal cancer with a certain type of inherited (germline) or acquired (somatic) abnormal BRCA gene.
What does Lynparza treat?
This medication is used to treat ovarian cancer. It works by slowing the growth of cancer cells.
Who should take Lynparza?
LYNPARZA is used after the cancer has responded to treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy. advanced ovarian cancer with a certain type of abnormal inherited BRCA gene, and have received treatment with 3 or more prior types of chemotherapy medicines.
Can Lynparza cure cancer?
While the approval of Lynparza is a great first step in treating cancers in BRCA mutation carriers, much work remains. Lynparza has been approved for use in ovarian cancer patients who received three prior chemotherapies, making it what is known as a “fourth line” drug.
Can Lynparza cure ovarian cancer?
Lynparza was the first PARP inhibitor approved for treating ovarian cancer and can be effectively used as part of initial treatment or in women with recurrent disease. The PARP enzyme plays a role in DNA repair, including the repair of DNA damage from chemotherapy.
30 related questions foundHow long can you stay on Lynparza?
At five years, 48.3% of patients treated with Lynparza remained free from disease progression versus 20.5% on placebo. The median duration of treatment with Lynparza was 24.6 months versus 13.9 months with placebo. The safety profile of Lynparza was consistent with previous observations.
What happens when Lynparza stops working?
Olaparib stops PARP working. Some cancer cells rely on PARP to keep their DNA healthy. This includes cancer cells with a change in the BRCA gene. So, when olaparib stops PARP from repairing DNA damage, the cancer cells die.
How effective is Lynparza?
In women with a BRCA mutation who had responded to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, Lynparza lowered the risk of the disease progression or death by 70%, when compared to a placebo (an inactive pill). Most women (61%, or 158 out of 260 women) did not see their cancer grow or return for a median of 3.4 years.
How long does it take for Lynparza to work?
It takes Lynparza between two months and five months to start working depending on what cancer it is being used to treat. It may take at least 3 months for Lynparza to start working when used to treat ovarian cancer.
Can Stage 4 ovarian cancer go into remission?
With appropriate surgical and medical treatment, many patients diagnosed with Stage III or Stage IV ovarian cancer can be put into remission.
Is Lynparza a chemo pill?
Lynparza ™ is the trade name for the generic chemotherapy drug olaparib. In some cases, health care professionals may use the generic name olaparib when referring to the trade drug name Lynparza™. Drug type: Lynparza ™ is a targeted therapy.
Does Lynparza lower immune system?
Lynparza affects your immune system. You may get infections more easily, even serious or fatal infections. Call your doctor if you have a fever, weakness, tiredness, trouble breathing, easy bruising or bleeding, blood in your urine or stools, or weight loss.
Can Lynparza cause leukemia?
It's possible for Lynparza to cause long-term side effects. These may include myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These are types of cancer that affect your blood cells or bone marrow.
How does Lynparza make you feel?
Along with nausea, you may also have vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or reduced appetite. Nausea from Lynparza may be mild to severe. In the drug's trials, some people had to stop treatment because their nausea was too severe.
Can Lynparza shrink tumors?
Health professionals may prescribe Lynparza as an active treatment to shrink or slow cancer growth or maintenance treatment to prevent cancer from returning.
How can you tell if a tumor is shrinking?
How Do You Know You're in Remission? Tests look for cancer cells in your blood. Scans like X-rays and MRIs show if your tumor is smaller or if it's gone after surgery and isn't growing back. To qualify as remission, your tumor either doesn't grow back or stays the same size for a month after you finish treatments.
How do you know chemo is not working?
Here are some signs that chemotherapy may not be working as well as expected: tumors aren't shrinking. new tumors keep forming. cancer is spreading to new areas.
When is chemo not recommended?
Because of chemotherapy's possible risks and side effects, it is not always recommended. Your oncologist may recommend avoiding chemotherapy if your body is not healthy enough to withstand chemotherapy or if there is a more effective treatment available.
Does Lynparza make your hair fall out?
Hair loss. Hair loss may occur during treatment with Lynparza. In one clinical study, 3.4% of people who took Lynparza had hair loss. In comparison, hair loss occurred in 13.2% of people who took chemotherapy (traditional drugs used to treat cancer).
Do Lynparza side effects get better?
Some side effects of olaparib may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine.
Does Lynparza cause kidney damage?
This medication can cause kidney toxicity, which your oncology team will monitor for using blood tests to check your creatinine level. Notify your care team if you notice decreased urine output, dark colored urine, blood in the urine, or swelling in the ankles.
Can you drink alcohol while on Lynparza?
Avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice for the duration of your treatment, as these may interact with olaparib. The drinking of alcohol (in small amounts) does not appear to affect the safety or usefulness of olaparib. Olaparib may damage sperm and may harm the baby if used during pregnancy.
Can I take Tylenol with Lynparza?
Do not eat or drink grapefruit, starfruit, pomegranate, Seville oranges or their juices (or products that contain these) while taking this drug. They may increase the amount of drug in your blood and increase side effects. For mild aches and pain: You may take acetaminophen (Tylenol®) tablets.
What can you not take with Lynparza?
Do not consume grapefruit, grapefruit juice, or Seville oranges during treatment with olaparib.
Can you live 20 years after ovarian cancer?
They may go on to live for many more years. For all types of ovarian cancer taken together, about 75% of women with ovarian cancer live for at least one year after diagnosis. Around 46% of the women with ovarian cancer can live five years after diagnosis if the cancer is detected in earlier stages.