Dr. Randall on Next Steps With PARP Inhibitors in Gynecologic Malignancies

Leslie M. Randall, MD, associate professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, UC Irvine Health, discusses next steps with PARP inhibitors in the treatment of patients with gynecologic malignancies.

PARP inhibition has been one of the most significant developments made in the treatment of gynecologic cancers in recent years, earning 3 FDA approvals for the maintenance treatment of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. While these oral agents have shown encouraging benefit, patients are still developing resistance, with most patients having to stop therapy due to progressive disease.

Aside from extending the reach of PARP inhibitors beyond ovarian cancer, the most exciting research moving forward is developing combination therapies to overcome PARP resistance, Randall says. There is intriguing ongoing work looking at combining PARP inhibitors with immunotherapy or with PIK3CA inhibition, which is particularly important in the treatment of cervical cancer.