Drug to delay progression of ovarian and breast cancers

A new type of drug, called a PARP inhibitor, can sometimes delay progression of ovarian cancer for up to two years and may also be effective against breast cancer. Three of these drugs are on the market, all designed to ensure that cancer cells damaged by chemotherapy can’t repair themselves.

Prior to the development of PARP inhibitors, no new ovariancancer drug had been approved in the US since 2006.

Scientists initially believed that the medications would work only in women who carried BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, but now it looks as if the drugs could help a much larger group of cancer sufferers.