Managing Fatigue With PARP Inhibitors
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/ Updated August 1st, 2023

Managing Fatigue With PARP Inhibitors

Medically Reviewed: Dr. Whitfield Growdon Written by Dr. Allan James White
START Center for Cancer Care
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Fatigue and PARP Inhibitors

  • PARP inhibitors, a class of drugs that can benefit almost all women with ovarian cancer, are commonly known to cause a feeling of decreased energy.
  • While there is no one medication or treatment that can mitigate fatigue, light exercise can often help.
  • The importance of maintaining a positive attitude shouldn’t be discounted, either.
PARP inhibitors are available to almost all women, though women with BRCA gene mutations or who are HRD proficient may benefit the most from these drugs.

However, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines recommend PARP inhibitors be offered to women, with or without genetic mutations, who are newly diagnosed with stage III or IV ovarian cancer and have improved with chemotherapy.

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PARP inhibitors can be an incredibly helpful treatment for many women with ovarian cancer, but they do cause side effects including, most commonly, fatigue.

Dr. Allan James White, a gynecologic oncologist at the START Center for Cancer Care in San Antonio, Texas, says that, compared with many of the side effects associated with other ovarian cancer treatments like chemotherapy (think, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea), the side effects of PARP inhibitors are generally tolerable.

Having said that, dealing with fatigue can still be tough especially when women are used to going about their lives and routines with a higher level of energy.

“We try to discuss with a patient that they should just bear with it for a while and see if it will just go away,” Dr. White says, explaining that, unfortunately, there is no one medication that will eliminate a woman’s fatigue.

Some doctors recommend light exercise for women who feel up to it, since activity has been known to help with fatigue.

“I think attitude really makes a big difference as far as the cancer patient is concerned,” Dr. White adds. “And I would encourage them to really have a positive attitude and know that we would continue to keep up with a modern treatment and they were getting the best treatment that we could get.”

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Dr. Allan James ("A.J.") White is a gynecologic oncologist at the START Center for Cancer Care in San Antonio, Texas. Read More

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