Successes and limitations of targeted cancer therapy in ovarian cancer.

In ovarian cancer, the clinical development of anticancer agents targeting DNA repair has been associated with significant results because of the elucidation of the different types of damages and repair systems, including PARP. The discovery of the BRCA mutation and its role in ovarian cancer and the clinical application of the concept of synthetic lethality have been the rationale for the successful testing of PARP inhibitors in BRCA mutated ovarian cancer patients. The recent knowledge of the molecular features of low grade ovarian cancer and the application of the concept of synthetic lethality also in this well-defined pathological entity have prompted the clinical evaluation of a combination of PI3K/MEK inhibitors, the first results of which have been already reported.