PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer.

The fact that most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer initially present in the advanced stages of the disease constitutes one of the greatest barriers to effective treatment. The failure of existing treatments is largely reflected by the fact that ovarian cancer remains the most common cause of gynaecological cancer death, with rates of survival in the UK among the worst in Western Europe (Ovarian Cancer Action, 2014). Cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy, while it represents the standard of care for advanced ovarian cancer, does not appear to adequately maintain disease control at 5 years, or prevent recurrence in most patients (Jayson et al, 2014). With these failings in mind, a tailored approach to treatment – exemplified by targeted therapies and selection of the patient population based on biomarker or genetic screening – seems to currently be a promising emerging strategy to improve survival in women with ovarian cancer.