BRCA1 and cancer: Cancer cells with germline BRCA1/2 mutations rely on poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) enzymes 1 and 2 for DNA repair.8 PARP inhibitors inhibit PARP1/2 catalytic activity and trap PARP to single-strand breaks inducing cell death via synthetic lethality.6 This supports the rationale for the use of PARP inhibitors in the neoadjuvant setting for patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutations.