PARP inhibition in breast cancer: progress made and future hopes

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.