Rucaparib as a Salvage Treatment in Platinum-Sensitive Relapsed Ovarian Carcinoma: A Case Report

One of the leading causes of female mortality worldwide is ovarian carcinoma. It can be divided into five main types: high-grade serous, endometrioid, clear cell, mucinous and low-grade serous carcinomas. These tumors represent distinct diseases and prognoses. Though the conventional treatment using platinum-based chemotherapy typically results in an adequate initial response, recurrence is not uncommon. The present case report deals with treating one such platinum-sensitive first relapse of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma with a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. Here, rucaparib, one of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved PARP inhibitors, was used to treat platinum-sensitive relapse in a patient with germline breast cancer (BRCA) negative ovarian cancer. The patient showed a complete response to the treatment and was in remission for around 11 months with only one dose reduction and no blood transfusion. The patient also remained progression-free on regular follow-ups. Since the outcome for this individual case was good, a more extensive study with rucaparib as a second-line treatment option in gene 1 BRCA wild-type homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)-positive ovarian carcinoma patients can be explored.