As researchers have learned more about some of the changes inside prostate cancer cells that help them grow, they have developed newer types of drugs that target these changes. These targeted drugs work differently from chemotherapy (chemo) and hormone therapy drugs. They sometimes work when these other types of drugs don’t, and they often have different side effects.
Like chemo and hormone therapy, these drugs enter the bloodstream and reach almost all areas of the body, which makes them useful against some cancers that have spread to distant parts of the body.
Rucaparib (Rubraca) and olaparib (Lynparza) are drugs known as a PARP (poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase) inhibitors. PARP enzymes normally help repair damaged DNA inside cells.
The proteins coded for by the BRCA genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) also normally help repair DNA, but in a different way, and mutations (changes) in one of these genes can stop the BRCA proteins from working like they should.
By blocking the PARP proteins as well, these drugs make it very hard for tumor cells with an abnormal BRCA gene to repair damaged DNA, which often leads to the death of these cells.
Your doctor will likely test your blood or saliva and your cancer cells to be sure the cells have a BRCA gene change before starting treatment with a PARP inhibitor.
These drugs are taken by mouth as pills, typically twice a day. They are given along with hormone therapy such as an LHRH agonist or after an orchiectomy.
Rucaparib (Rubraca) can be used to treat metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer that has grown after treatment with taxane chemotherapy (such as docetaxel or cabazitaxel) and hormone therapy, and when the cancer cells have a change in one of the BRCA genes.
Olaparib (Lynparza) can be used to treat metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer, either:
Side effects of these drugs can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, loss of appetite, low red blood cell counts (anemia), constipation, skin rash, abnormal liver blood tests, low blood platelet counts, cough and shortness of breath.
Rarely, some people treated with these drugs might develop a blood cancer later on, such as myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia. Some men taking olaparib might develop blood clots in the lungs or legs.
To learn more about how targeted drugs are used to treat cancer, see Targeted Cancer Therapy.
To learn about some of the side effects listed here and how to manage them, see Managing Cancer-related Side Effects.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Prostate Cancer. Version 2.2020. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/prostate.pdf on June 10, 2020.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. FDA approves olaparib for HRR gene-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Published May 20, 2020. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/fda-approves-olaparib-hrr-gene-mutated-metastatic-castration-resistant-prostate-cancer. Accessed June 10, 2020.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. FDA grants accelerated approval to rucaparib for BRCA-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Published May 15, 2020. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fda-grants-accelerated-approval-rucaparib-brca-mutated-metastatic-castration-resistant-prostate. Accessed June 10, 2020.
Last Revised: June 8, 2023
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