Hereditary ovarian carcinomas: clinico-biological features and treatment

Hereditary ovarian cancers account for 10% of all cases. Two major syndromes with dominant autosomal transmission are identified. The most common one is breast-ovarian cancer syndrome due to BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes mutations, and the Lynch syndrome with mutated MMR genes is the other. Alterations in homologous recombination specifically observed in ovarian cancer with BRCA defects associated to Parp inhibition create a synthetic lethality of special interest. Numerous studies are in progress to explore this promising new approach. Furthermore, it seems that carcinogenesis of these two syndromes are different, suggesting alternative therapeutic options in the near future in order to improve prognosis of ovarian carcinomas.