The use of PARP inhibitors in the management of patients with recurrent cancer of the ovary

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Benedict B Benigno

Northside Hospital, USA

: J Nurs Patient Care

Abstract

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Cytotoxic chemotherapy, in one form or another, has been used to treat patients with cancer of the ovary for over 60 years. These drugs are poisonous, and the dosage and interval between treatments are modified only by the body’s ability to withstand repetitive poisoning. Chemotherapy works by interfering with cell division and is extremely toxic. For the past two years, oncologists have had access to an entirely new and exciting class of drugs, the PARP inhibitors, and they have revolutionized the care of these patients. PARP inhibitors work at the very strands of the DNA. The PARP enzyme helps repair single strand breaks in the DNA of the cancer cell, thus allowing the cancer cell to survive and continue acting as a cancer cell. When this enzyme is inhibited, the cancer cell dies. I will go into the use of these drugs and their mechanism of action, duration of response, and complications. I will spend considerable time discussing the importance of genetic testing in patients with ovarian cancer, and how mutations in the BRCA gene are related to the use of the PARP inhibitor drugs.

Biography

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Benedict B Benigno is a world-renowned gynaecologic surgeon and oncologist who has spent his career treating women with ovarian cancer. He received his MD degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine, and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in New York City. He completed two fellowships in gynaecologic oncology, one at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and the other at the MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston. He is the founder and President of University Gynaecologic Oncology and the Director of Gynaecologic Oncology at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a member of many societies including the Society of Gynaecologic Oncologists, the Felix Rutledge Society, and the American Society of Clinical Oncologists. He has published numerous articles and textbook chapters, and travels the world speaking on various aspects of gynaecologic cancer.