Title:Currently Approved Poly (Adenosine Diphosphate-Ribose) Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer: Current Status and Future Directions
Volume: 5
Author(s): Gonzalo H. Giornelli and Pablo Mando*
Affiliation:
- Oncology Department, CEMIC, Buenos Aires,Argentina
Keywords:
Ovarian cancer, PARP inhibitors, homologous recombination deficiency, synthetic lethality, polymerase inhibitors,
disease free survival.
Abstract: Background: Poly (adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase inhibitors have entered
into the clinic rapidly and are becoming a powerful therapeutic tool, especially in the management
of BRCA associated ovarian cancers. PARP inhibitors have exploited the homologous recombination
deficiency, present in up to 50% of ovarian cancers, through synthetic lethality: A novel therapeutic
approach to this disease.
Objective: Through an extensive review of PARP inhibitors we evaluated the existing evidence in the
clinical trial as monotherapy and combined with chemotherapy in ovarian cancer.
Conclusion: PARP inhibitors have demonstrated to fulfill the characteristics of the ideal maintenance
therapy agent. Understanding biomarkers in this scenario holds maximum importance to allow its
foreseen potential, although “platinum-sensitivity” shows to be a “functional biomarker”, reflecting a
homologous recombination deficiency phenotype, thus, proving sensitivity to PARP inhibitors. Many
clinical studies are ongoing marking its future directions and analyzing its effect on several combinations.
Numerous questions remain unanswered, such as mechanisms of resistance or sequential use,
and need to be explored completely through ongoing research.
