PARP inhibitor

PARP inhibitors are a group of pharmacological inhibitors of the enzyme poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP). They are developed for multiple indications; the most important is the treatment of cancer. Several forms of cancer are more dependent on PARP than regular cells, making PARP an attractive target for cancer therapy. PARP inhibitors appear to improve progression-free survival in women with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, as evidenced mainly by olaparib added to conventional treatment.

In addition to their use in cancer therapy, PARP inhibitors are considered a potential treatment for acute life-threatening diseases, such as stroke and myocardial infarction, as well as for long-term neurodegenerative diseases.

Mechanism of action

DNA is damaged thousands of times during each cell cycle, and that damage must be repaired.

BRCA1, BRCA2 and PALB2 are proteins that are important for the repair of double-strand DNA breaks by the error-free homologous recombinational repair, or HRR, pathway. When the gene for either protein is mutated, the change can lead to errors in DNA repair that can eventually cause breast cancer. When subjected to enough damage at one time, the altered gene can cause the death of the cells.