DNA repair pathways as targets for cancer therapy.

Journal article

DNA repair pathways can enable tumour cells to survive DNA damage that is induced by chemotherapeutic treatments; therefore, inhibitors of specific DNA repair pathways might prove efficacious when used in combination with DNA-damaging chemotherapeutic drugs. In addition, alterations in DNA repair pathways that arise during tumour development can make some cancer cells reliant on a reduced set of DNA repair pathways for survival. There is evidence that drugs that inhibit one of these pathways in such tumours could prove useful as single-agent therapies, with the potential advantage that this approach could be selective for tumour cells and have fewer side effects.

Authors: Helleday, T; Petermann, E; Lundin, C; Hodgson, B; Sharma, R

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Nature reviews. Cancer
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 193-204
• Publication date: 2008-03-01
• DOI: 10.1038/nrc2342
• EISSN: 1474-1768
• ISSN: 1474-175X
• Language: English
• Keywords: DNA Damage; DNA Repair Enzymes; Antineoplastic Agents; Animals; DNA Repair; Cell Survival; Humans; Medical Oncology; Neoplasms; Treatment Outcome; Models, Biological