Abstract: The patients with advanced ovarian cancer have poor prognosis. The high mortality for patients with advanced ovarian cancer is attributable to the shortage of efficient therapeutic strategies. Poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor is a novel type of antineoplastic targeting agent, which can cause BRCA-mutated cancer cells cannot repair the damaged DNA and result in cells death by "synthetic lethality" mechanism. Olaparib is one of the most widely studied PARP inhibitors, which is approved in the European Union and United States for the maintenance treatment of advanced, recurrent ovarian cancer associated with BRCA mutation and platinum sensitivity. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated the effective antineoplastic activity of olaparib as single agents and in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy and molecular targeted agents, showing an increase of progression free survival (PFS) and well tolerability, exhibiting a promising application prospects. The review discusses the mechanism, clinical trials and adverse effects of olaparib in advanced ovarian tumor treatment．
【Keywords】  Ovarian neoplasms；Genes，BRCA1；Genes，BRCA2；Synthetic lethality

Key words: Ovarian neoplasms, Genes, BRCA1, Genes, BRCA2, Synthetic lethality