Abstract: Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant tumor. PARP inhibitor (PARPI) is the first synthetic antineoplastic drug developed based on the concept of synthetic lethality and has been clinically approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer and breast cancer. Due to specific DNA repair defects, studies have found that tumors with BRCA1/2 germline mutations are sensitive to PARPI, but the specific mechanism of action is still unclear. A number of clinical trials for pancreatic cancer have been carried out. Phase III POLO studies have shown that Olaparib is effective and well tolerated as a maintenance treatment in patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutations and patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer after platinum-based induction chemotherapy. Clinical studies related to combination therapy suggest that the benefit of adding PARPI is likely to come from the maintenance phase of treatment. In general, PARPI has broad prospects in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Key words: pancreatic cancer, PARP inhibitors, BRCA mutation, molecular mechanism, clinical trials