Dr. Coffman on Safety Concerns With PARP Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer

Lan G. Coffman, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical (UPMC) Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses safety concerns with PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer.

One of the main concerns of combining cytotoxic chemotherapy with PARP inhibitors as frontline maintenance therapy is the potential for increased myelosuppression, says Coffman. If patients cannot tolerate chemotherapy due to the increase in myelosuppression, they could be deprived of an overall survival benefit.

Additionally, there is concern that the combination could increase the risk of leukemic transformation as a result of increased DNA damage. However, further research is being done to see whether these concerns outweigh the potential benefits of treatment, concludes Coffman.