Clinical Utility of Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer

Inhibitors of the enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) are the most promising class of targeted therapies in ovarian cancers in recent times. Approximately 30% to 50% of these cancers are characterized by aberrant DNA repair pathways due to mutations in tumor suppressor genes: BRCA1 or BRCA2. Therapeutic approach with PARP inhibitors in BRCA deficient tumors exploits a synthetic lethal strategy targeting the deficiency in homologous recombination DNA repair pathway. This short review provides an overview of BRCAness in maintaining genomic integrity, the role of PARP in DNA repair, utility of PARP inhibitors as monotherapy or in combination with other therapies, mechanisms of resistance to PARP inhibitors and biomarkers for clinical utility of PARP inhibitors in management of ovarian cancer.