PARP Inhibitors in Combination with Radiotherapy: To Do or Not to Do?

Despite the large use of inhibitors of Poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP-I), the feasibility and safety of their combination with radiotherapy (RT) is unclear.

We conducted a literature analysis with the aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of a combination with RT and PARP-I.

The key issues for the current review were expressed in two questions according to the Population, Intervention, Control, Outcome (PICO) criteria: 1. What is the outcome and 2. What is the toxicity in patients treated with a combination of PARP-I and RT for a newly diagnosed or recurrent tumors?

A total of 12 clinical studies met the inclusion criteria including seven single-arm dose-escalation phase I studies, two phase II (two- and three-arms controlled trials) trials, one parallel-arm phase I study, and two phase I/II studies published between 2015 and 2021. RT was performed with photon beams and several schedules according to the clinical situation. The acute toxicity ≥ grade 3 ranged between 25% and >96%, which was divided into hematological or non-hematological adverse events.

despite the heterogeneity of the evaluated patient populations and tumor types, and the limited number of the studies, this review suggests that a combination approach is feasible even though the efficacy profile remains unclear.