Incorporating PARP-inhibitors into clinical routine: A tailored treatment strategy to tackle ovarian cancer. Issue 1 (2nd January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Jaeghere, E.; Vandecasteele, K.; Claes, K.; Makar, A.; Tummers, P.; Cocquyt, V.; Denys, Hannelore
• Is Part Of: Acta clinica belgica. Volume 72:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 6
• Page End: 11
• Publication Date: 2017-01-02
• Subjects: PARP-inhibitors -- Olaparib -- BRCA -- Ovarian cancer -- Targeted therapy; Clinical medicine -- Periodicals; Diagnosis, Laboratory -- Periodicals; 616.005
• DOI: 10.1080/17843286.2016.1188455
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1784-3286

Abstract

Abstract : DNA repair mechanisms play a key role in oncogenesis and cancer progression in women with BRCA mutation-positive ( BRCAm ) ovarian cancer (OC). The BRCA1/2 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) proteins are considered the foremost mediators among the various components of double-strand and single-strand repair, respectively. A series of new therapeutic drugs that target PARP have been developed for BRCAm OC. This class of agents provokes tumour-specific cytotoxicity with minimal side effects by inducing synthetic lethality, of which they are the first clinical example. The European Medicines Agency granted accelerated licensing approval for the first-in-class-drug that inhibits PARP, olaparib (Lynparza™, AstraZeneca). Olaparib can be used as a monotherapeutic maintenance treatment in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed (germline and/or somatic) BRCAm high-grade serous epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer responsive to platinum-based chemotherapy. Seen in light of these recent events, this review article will focus on (a) how PARP-inhibitors exploit cancer-specific defects in the homologous recombination repair apparatus and (b) how BRCA testing is implemented in routine clinical care.