In October, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new PARP inhibitor, Talzenna (talazoparib), for people with harmful BRCA gene mutations who have locally advanced or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer.

The EMBRACA trial showed that Talzenna reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 46 percent compared with chemotherapy. The median progression-free survival time was 8.6 months in the Talzenna group versus 5.6 months in the chemotherapy group. Nearly two thirds of Talzenna recipients saw complete or partial tumor shrinkage. Side effects were common, but women treated with Talzenna reported better overall health.