PARP Inhibitors in the Treatment of Prostate Cancer: An Analysis of the Clinical Trial Landscape

TL;DR

This paper analyzes clinical trials using PARP inhibitors for prostate cancer, showing growth in research and highlighting challenges like resistance.

Contribution

A systematic analysis of 109 clinical trials on PARP inhibitors for prostate cancer, revealing trends and gaps in trial design and focus.

Findings

Clinical trials involving PARP inhibitors increased significantly from 2012 to 2025.

The United States led in contributing to multinational trials, with a focus on PARP1 and PARP2.

Resistance and the need for personalized therapies remain key challenges in PARP inhibitor treatment.

Abstract

Prostate cancer remains one of the most prevalent cancers among men worldwide, particularly in the context of metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), which poses significant treatment challenges. PARP inhibitors offer a promising therapeutic option for patients with homologous recombination repair (HRR) deficiencies.

This study systematically analyzed 630 registered clinical trials related to prostate cancer and PARP inhibitors as of April 25, 2025. A total of 109 trials were included, focusing on key information such as year of initiation, trial phase, targeted populations, and study designs.

Our findings indicate a significant increase in clinical trials involving PARP inhibitors from 2012 to 2025. Multi‐national collaborative studies accounted for 39.4% of the trials, with the United States being the principal contributing country. The majority of trials are concentrated on targeting PARP1 and PARP2 at various phases of development.

PARP inhibitors have demonstrated breakthrough advancements in the treatment of mCRPC; however, challenges such as resistance and the need for personalized therapies persist. Future research should emphasize target identification and the exploration of combination therapy strategies to enhance clinical efficacy.

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