Poly ADP Ribose Polymerase (PARP) inhibitors
Since January 2018, there’s a new drug called olaparib for breast cancer patients. It is an enzyme inhibitor that works for a type of cancer with a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. These are tumor suppressor genes, which means that they normally work to prevent cancer cells. A mutation would override their protection and cause trouble. PARP inhibitors suppress an enzyme that prepares DNA previous to cell division. By having this drug around, PARP is not activated, and mutated DNA becomes sensitive to several breaks that ultimately lead to cell death. Thus, it is a drug administered to patients after examining the nature of the tumor and what type of genetic alterations it has.