PARP inhibition in breast cancer: progress made and future hopes

Abstract

PARP inhibitors have been approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in germline BRCA mutation (gBRCAm) carriers. The recent OlympiA trial demonstrated improved progression-free and distant disease-free survival with adjuvant olaparib for gBRCAm carriers with HER2-negative high-risk early-stage breast cancer. The current article addresses some for the questions raised by OlympiA regarding how to incorporate PARP inhibitors into the treatment of early-stage breast cancer as well as future directions for PARP inhibitors in breast cancer treatment and prevention.