A comprehensive Cochrane review of 15 randomized trials involving 6109 women evaluated the clinical impact of PARP inhibitors across newly diagnosed and recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. Findings showed that while combining PARP inhibitors with chemotherapy offered little to no improvement in progression-free survival, PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy consistently extended time to disease progression in both newly diagnosed and recurrent platinum-sensitive cases. However, overall survival benefits remained uncertain due to immature data, and quality-of-life reporting across studies was limited.
In recurrent ovarian cancer, PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy demonstrated a substantial improvement in progression-free survival compared with placebo, though this benefit was associated with a higher incidence of severe adverse events. For platinum-resistant disease, evidence was sparse and highly uncertain, preventing firm conclusions. Overall, the review indicates that although PARP inhibitors improve disease control in select groups, their use may come with increased toxicity, and further research is needed to clarify long-term survival and quality-of-life effects.