Dr. O'Malley on the Tolerability of PARP Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer

David O'Malley, MD, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the tolerability of PARP inhibitors for patients with ovarian cancer.

The toxicity is somewhat of a challenge, explains O’Malley. Patients find that when taking agents daily, oral agents are particularly convenient. There are adverse events such as fatigue, gastrointestinal side effects, and hematologic events, which can limit the quality of life in patients. However, due to patient-reported outcomes, physicians can keep the disease from coming back in the maintenance phase in platinum-sensitive disease, and those patients can do better.

When comparing treatment from placebo with PARP inhibitors, there is not much difference, says O’Malley. There are side effects that need to be balanced, and it is important to look at patient-reported outcomes moving forward to ascertain the best place to use these drugs, he adds. Overall, PARP inhibitors are well tolerated, but there are some side effects that can impact a patient's quality of life, specifically, fatigue and gastrointestinal side effects.